Maryland Route 852


Maryland Route 852 is a collection of state highways in the U.S. state of Maryland. These 11 highways are service roads related to and sections of an old alignment of MD 31 between New Windsor and Manchester in Carroll County. Between Westminster and Manchester, the sections of MD 852 follow MD 27, which replaced MD 31 north of Westminster in 1967. MD 852 has three distinct sections of mainline highway: MD 852 runs from New Windsor to south of Westminster, MD 852K runs from south of Westminster into the county seat, and MD 852G runs from north of Westminster to Mexico. What are now parts of MD 852 were originally constructed as MD 31 around 1920 south of Westminster and in the early 1910s north of Westminster. The sections of MD 852 were assigned north of Westminster in the late 1950s and south of Westminster in the mid-1960s.

Route description

There are three mainline sections of MD 852:
MD 852 begins at an intersection with MD 31 just east of the town of New Windsor. The state highway heads north perpendicular to MD 31, then curves east and starts to follow old alignment at its intersection with MD 852M, which heads southwest to a dead end adjacent to MD 31. MD 852 follows a curvy path through farmland in the Wakefield Valley. After crossing Little Pipe Creek just west of its intersection with Adams Mill Road, the state highway veers to the southeast to parallel the creek. MD 852 runs along the southwestern edge of Wakefield Valley Golf Course before reaching its eastern terminus at MD 31 southwest of Westminster.

Westminster

MD 852K begins at an intersection with MD 31 a short distance east of MD 852's eastern terminus southwest of Westminster. The state highway heads south as Stone Chapel Road to a three-way intersection where Stone Chapel Road turns west as a county highway. MD 852K turns east onto New Windsor Road. MD 852K closely parallels the eastbound direction of MD 31, serving as a service road for properties on the south side of the two highways. There appears to be a connector between MD 31 and MD 852K at MD 31's intersection with Tahoma Farm Road; however, barriers prevent access between the two highways. Access between the two highways was cut off in 2008 when a traffic signal was added at the MD 31-Tahoma Farm Road intersection. MD 852K diverges from MD 31 just inside the city limit of Westminster. MD 852K becomes municipally-maintained just south of where houses start to line the westbound side of the highway. The state highway climbs to the top of the ridge on which downtown Westminster sits and reaches its eastern terminus at the intersection of Main Street and Uniontown Road on the edge of the Western Maryland College Historic District and the district's namesake, McDaniel College.

Westminster–Mexico

MD 852G begins at an intersection with MD 27 just north of the latter highway's crossing of the Maryland Midland Railway. MD 852G heads southeast to the intersection of MD 852H and Lucabaugh Mill Road, where the state highway picks up MD 31's old alignment and crosses Cranberry Branch. MD 852G curves to the northeast and passes through a mix of farmland and scattered residences. In the village of Mexico, the state highway intersects MD 482 and that highway's old alignment, MD 849. North of Mexico, MD 852G veers north and reaches its northern terminus at MD 27.

History

MD 31 from New Windsor to Westminster was originally constructed as a wide concrete road between 1919 and 1921. The state highway was widened to with a pair of wide macadam shoulders between 1936 and 1939. MD 852 was assigned to its present course after MD 31's present alignment was constructed between 1963 and 1965. MD 852K was assigned to its present course after MD 31's present alignment from southwest of Westminster to MD 140 was completed in 1967. By 1978, the state highway was municipally-maintained on its present stretch, which was named Doyle Avenue.
MD 27 from Westminster to Manchester was originally part of MD 31; Manchester Road became a northern extension of MD 27 in 1967. The Westminster-Manchester road was one of the original state roads marked for improvement by the Maryland State Roads Commission in 1909. The highway was completed from the Westminster city limit north to Cranberry Station on the Western Maryland Railway in 1911. The road was extended to just south of Mexico in 1913; in addition, construction on the state road began from the Manchester end. The gap between Mexico and south of Manchester was filled in 1914. Construction began on reconstructing and widening MD 31 from Manchester to Westminster in 1957. This project involved several relocations of the highway by the time it was completed in 1960; sections of old road became segments of MD 852, including MD 852G between Westminster and Mexico.

Junction lists

The entire route of all sections of MD 852 is in Carroll County.

MD 852

MD 852K

MD 852G

Auxiliary routes

There are eight existing sections of MD 852 that are shorter than. MD 852M is located in New Windsor. MD 852H and 852I are on the north side of Westminster. MD 852A, 852B, 852C, 852F, and 852J are between Mexico and Manchester.