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Maryland Route 117 (MD 117) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs from MD 28 near Dawsonville east to West Diamond Avenue next to MD 355 in Gaithersburg. MD 117 is an L-shaped highway that connects the rural western Montgomery County communities of Dawsonville and Boyds with Germantown, Gaithersburg, and Interstate 270 (I-270) in the suburban central part of the county. The highway also provides access to Seneca Creek State Park, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and several commuter rail stations along MARC's Brunswick Line, which the highway parallels. MD 117 was the inspiration for the 1971 hit song Take Me Home, Country Roads. MD 117 originally consisted of three disjoint segments. The segment from MD 28 to west of Boyds was built in the early 1910s and extended to Boyds in the late 1920s. The two other segments were built west from Germantown and west from MD 124 in Gaithersburg in the early 1930s. MD 117 east of MD 124 was originally part of the latter highway, which was constructed in the early 1910s. The two gaps in MD 117 were filled in the early to mid-1950s before the route between Boyds and Gaithersburg was transferred to county maintenance in the late 1950s. MD 117 was returned to its course from Boyds to Gaithersburg in the mid-1970s and extended to downtown Gaithersburg over what had been MD 124 in the 1980s. The highway was expanded to a four- to six-lane divided highway in parts of Germantown and Gaithersburg by the late 1990s. ==Route description== MD 117 begins at an intersection with MD 28 (Darnestown Road) between Dawsonville and Beallsville. The highway heads north as two-lane road Bucklodge Road past the historic home Friends Advice, then curves northeast and crosses Bucklodge Branch. MD 117 passes under CSX's Metropolitan Subdivision, which carries MARC's Brunswick Line. The highway curves southeast at its tangent junction with Barnesville Road and assumes that name as it approaches the village of Boyds. At the southern end of MD 121 (Clarksburg Road), MD 117 turns south onto Clarksburg Road and passes under the railroad again adjacent to the Boyds MARC station. Just south of the railroad, the highway turns east onto Clopper Road, which parallels the railroad then veers away southeast and crosses Little Seneca Creek.〔〔 East of Little Seneca Creek, MD 117 enters the suburban area of Germantown. The highway expands to a four-lane divided highway at Kingsview Middle School and intersects MD 118 (Germantown Road), the main street through Germantown that serves the suburb's MARC station. MD 117 gains a third eastbound lane to MD 119 (Great Seneca Highway), where the divided highway ends and soon drops to two lanes as it leaves Germantown. The highway crosses Great Seneca Creek and passes an entrance to Seneca Creek State Park. MD 117 expands to a four-lane undivided highway as it enters the city of Gaithersburg. The highway intersects Metropolitan Grove Road, which leads to the eponymous MARC station. MD 117 expands to a six-lane divided highway west of its intersection with MD 124 (Quince Orchard Road). The highway continues east as West Diamond Avenue along the northern edge of an unincorporated enclave within the city of Gaithersburg. The enclave contains the campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, whose main entrance is along MD 117 east of MD 124.〔〔 East of the federal agency's campus, MD 117 has a partial interchange with I-270 (Eisenhower Memorial Highway). The interchange consists of a straight ramp from the state highway to southbound I-270 and a loop ramp from northbound I-270 to MD 117. Connections with I-270 in the direction of Frederick are made via the freeway's interchange with MD 124 to the north. MD 117 drops to three lanes through the interchange, then expands to a four-lane divided highway again at Perry Parkway. The highway fully re-enters the city of Gaithersburg at its junction with Muddy Branch Road, east of which the highway drops to two lanes and reaches its eastern terminus at MD 117A, an unsigned connector between MD 117 and southbound MD 355 (Frederick Avenue). West Diamond Avenue continues east as a city street that parallels the Metropolitan Subdivision rail line under MD 355. West Diamond Avenue becomes Old Towne Avenue, which intersects Fulks Corner Road—which provides access to northbound MD 355—on its way to downtown Gaithersburg and the Gaithersburg MARC station.〔〔 MD 117 is a part of the National Highway System as a principal arterial between MD 118 and MD 119 in Germantown.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Maryland Route 117」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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