Maryland Route 32 (MD 32) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The road runs from Interstate 97 (I-97) and MD 3 in Millersville west and north to Washington Road in Westminster. The 30 mile four- to six-lane freeway portion of MD 32 is the Patuxent Freeway between I-97 and I-70 in West Friendship. The freeway passes through Odenton and Fort Meade, the site of Fort George G. Meade and the National Security Agency (NSA), in western Anne Arundel County and along the southern part of Columbia in Howard County. Via I-97, MD 32 connects those communities with U.S. Route 50 (US 50)/US 301 in Annapolis. MD 32 also intersects the four primary highways connecting Baltimore and Washington: the Baltimore–Washington Parkway, US 1, I-95, and US 29. MD 32's north–south section, Sykesville Road, connects West Friendship and Westminster by way of Sykesville and Eldersburg in southern Carroll County.
MD 32 was constructed as the original state road from West Friendship north to Westminster and from Westminster west to Taneytown in the early 1910s. The state highway was extended northwest to the Pennsylvania state line near Emmitsburg in the late 1910s. The portion of MD 32 from Glenelg to US 1 in Savage was built as MD 106 in the 1920s and early 1930s. MD 32 was extended south from West Friendship and assumed all of MD 106 in the mid-1940s. In the mid-1950s, the section of MD 32 from Westminster west to Emmitsburg was renumbered as an extension of MD 97. MD 32 would later be restored to its old route through Westminster and west toward Taneytown when MD 97, which is now MD 140 west of Westminster, was relocated in the early 1960s. MD 32 was truncated to Westminster in the late 1970s and rolled back to its present northern terminus at Washington Road in Westminster in 2001.
Along its present course, MD 32 bypassed Sykesville and was relocated from Clarksville to Glenelg in the early 1960s. The state highway was also extended east from Savage to Fort Meade in the late 1960s. A disjoint segment of MD 32 was constructed on a new alignment from MD 175 in Odenton to MD 178 in Crownsville in the early 1970s. The Patuxent Freeway was built from Fort Meade to Columbia in the mid-1980s and from Fort Meade to Millersville in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The freeway was completed from Columbia west to Clarksville in the mid-1990s, completed west through Fort George G. Meade to Crownsville in 2005, and completed north to West Friendship in 2022. Future plans call for MD 32 to be upgraded to a freeway from West Friendship to Eldersburg.
Route description MD 32 is maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA) for its entire length except for the section between Samford Road and Canine Road in Fort Meade, which is maintained by the U.S. government. The highway is a part of the main National Highway System from its eastern terminus in Millersville to I-70/US 40 in West Friendship; the highway is also a National Highway System principal arterial from the Howard–Carroll county line to MD 91 at Gamber.
Millersville to Fort Meade
MD 32 begins at a partial cloverleaf interchange with I-97 and MD 3 (Robert Crain Highway) in Millersville. MD 32 starts as a pair of two-lane flyover ramps that split west from northbound I-97 and join southbound I-97; the MD 32 ramps head northwest while I-97 curves to the northeast and settles into the wide median of the northern end of MD 3. After passing through its interchange with MD 3, MD 32 heads northwest as the Patuxent Freeway, a four-lane freeway that passes to the north of the community of Gambrills. The state highway's first interchange is with Sappington Station Road, a spur from the westbound ramps of MD 32 that is unsigned MD 32AA. The eastbound ramps connect with county-maintained Burns Crossing Road. MD 32 continues northwest along the northern edge of Odenton, where the freeway gradually curves to the southwest, has a diamond interchange with MD 170 (Telegraph Road) and a partial cloverleaf interchange with MD 175 (Annapolis Road), and crosses over Amtrak's Northeast Corridor railroad line and MARC's Penn Line between the interchanges.
MD 32 heads west from Odenton along the southern edge of Fort George G. Meade. The freeway has a dumbbell interchange with MD 198 (Laurel Fort Meade Road) just north of Tipton Airport. MD 32 curves northwest and has an interchange with Samford Road, which is one of two interchanges that provide access to the NSA. The median of MD 32 widens at the interchange as the eastbound ramps enter and exit on the left to a roundabout, from which Samford Road crosses the westbound lanes of MD 32. Immediately to the north of a trumpet interchange with Canine Road, which provides access to the NSA, the National Vigilance Park, and the National Cryptologic Museum, the freeway has a cloverleaf interchange with the Baltimore–Washington Parkway.
Fort Meade to Clarksville
MD 32 traverses Dorsey Run into the industrial community of Annapolis Junction, where westbound MD 32 has an interchange with Guilford Road, which leads to National Business Parkway and the historic home Grassland. The state highway crosses over CSX's Capital Subdivision railroad line into Howard County and immediately has a partial cloverleaf interchange with Dorsey Run Road. Dorsey Run Road, which is unsigned MD 732R, provides access to the Savage station on MARC's Camden Line (which runs along the CSX line) and several industrial parks in Annapolis Junction. MD 32 continues northwest into Savage, where the highway has a cloverleaf interchange with US 1 (Washington Boulevard) that includes collector-distributor lanes in both directions. North of Savage, the freeway has a partial cloverleaf interchange with I-95 that has a pair of left-exiting ramps from westbound MD 32 to southbound I-95 and from eastbound MD 32 to northbound I-95; because of these left exits, I-95 is configured differently in that its southbound lanes pass under MD 32 and its northbound lanes pass over MD 32.
MD 32 continues west as a six-lane freeway through the expansive new town of Columbia. The freeway passes north and south of the villages of King's Contrivance and Owen Brown, respectively, where the highway has a partial cloverleaf interchange with Broken Land Parkway that provides access to two park and ride lots serving MTA Maryland commuter buses and a four-loop interchange with Eden Brook Drive and Shaker Drive. MD 32 crosses the Little Patuxent River between the two interchanges. Just south of Simpsonville, the state highway has a cloverleaf interchange with US 29 (Columbia Pike), which provides access to Columbia Town Center. The freeway reduces to four lanes and crosses the Middle Patuxent River just east of its diamond interchange with Sanner Road and Cedar Lane. MD 32 continues along the southern edge of the village of River Hill, where the highway has a half-interchange with Great Star Drive, which is unsigned MD 732V, allowing access to and from the east. The state highway continues northwest to Clarksville, where the highway has a diamond interchange with MD 108 (Clarksville Pike).
Clarksville to Westminster West of its interchange with MD 108, MD 32's name changes to Sykesville Road and becomes a north–south highway, which continues as a partially controlled-access four-lane divided highway through a mix of farmland and large-plot residential subdivisions. The state highway is paralleled to the west by its old alignment, Ten Oaks Road. East of the community of Dayton, the state highway passes by MDSHA's Dayton shops. In Glenelg, MD 32 passes under Triadelphia Road and continues as a four-lane divided highway for its dumbbell interchange with Burntwoods Road, which also provides access to the northern end of Ten Oaks Road and Pfefferkorn Road. The state highway veers northeast and north toward West Friendship. MD 32 crosses the Middle Patuxent River and Terrapin Branch before its intersection with MD 144 (Frederick Road). The state highway has a diamond interchange with I-70/US 40 (Baltimore National Pike) before reducing to a four-lane undivided highway that passes east of a park and ride lot continues north to MD 32's intersection with MD 99 (Old Frederick Road).
MD 32 continues north as a two-lane undivided road to Sykesville. Just south of the town, the state highway intersects West Friendship Road, the old alignment of MD 32 that is now MD 851. MD 32 veers northeast and crosses the Patapsco River and CSX's Old Main Line Subdivision railroad line into Carroll County; immediately to the east of MD 32's crossing is the highway's old aluminum bridge. The state highway passes to the west of Springfield Hospital Center, whose original buildings are preserved as the Warfield Complex, Hubner, and T Buildings. MD 32 temporarily expands to a four-lane divided highway at its intersection with Springfield Avenue, which is the northern end of MD 851, and continues north into the suburban community of Eldersburg. The state highway passes west of a park and ride lot before it expands to a four-lane divided highway at Piney Ridge Parkway and maintains that form through its intersection with MD 26 (Liberty Road). MD 32 continues through the suburban area as a four-lane undivided highway with two lanes northbound, one lane southbound, and a center turn lane. The state highway passes to the east of Liberty High School and reduces to two lanes north of Bennett Road.
MD 32 heads into a forested area and crosses the Morgan Run arm of Liberty Reservoir. The state highway passes through an S-curve before heading through the communities of Louisville and Gamber, where the highway meets the southern end of MD 91 (Gamber Road). MD 32 continues northwest through a mix of farmland and residential subdivisions toward Fenby, where the highway intersects MD 97 (New Washington Road). Just north of MD 97 adjacent to Carroll Community College, the state highway meets MD 97's old alignment, Old Washington Road, which is unsigned MD 854B. MD 32 continues north as Washington Road through a suburban area; the highway parallels MD 97 and passes to the west of the Carroll County Career and Technology Center and Westminster Senior High School east of the historic Friendship Valley Farm and Carroll County Almshouse and Farm, which is now the Carroll County Farm Museum. Just north of Bennett Avenue, MD 32 reaches its northern terminus at the southern city limit of Westminster. The roadway continues north as a municipal street to Main Street, which heads northwest through the Westminster Historic District.
History
Original construction
When the Maryland State Roads Commission (MDSRC), the predecessor of MDSHA, laid out its original state road system in 1909, the commission included the roads from Westminster to Taneytown and from West Friendship to Westminster via Eldersburg. These highways already contained several stretches of improved highway; Main Street in Westminster and the highways for on either side of Gamber and for on either side of Sykesville were paved by 1910. In addition, the designated state roads included two turnpikes: the Westminster and Meadow Branch Turnpike operated from the western city limit of Westminster northwest to Fountain Valley on the road to Taneytown; and the Westminster and Fenby Turnpike operated from the southern city limit of Westminster to Fenby.