Keysers Ridge

Keysers Ridge is the high crest of I-68 in northern Garrett County, Maryland, and the highest point on the entire Interstate system in the state. It sits inside Interchange 14, where I-68 meets US 219 and US 40. Sources put the elevation at roughly 2,880 to 2,894 ft, so treat any single figure with a little caution. The Wikipedia I-68 article cites 2,880 ft; the Keysers Ridge community article and VisitMaryland cite about 2,894 ft.

For a driver, this is the pivot point of I-68 in western Maryland. Coming up from the West Virginia line you climb to the ridge, and east of the summit the road runs down the long descents toward Cumberland. The Eastern Continental Divide on I-68 falls between Finzel and Keysers Ridge, which is part of why the weather can flip on you near here. The crest is exposed, so it is often the first place to ice or fog up.

One thing to keep straight: the famous 6 percent, 13-mile grade with the mandatory truck-stop sign and the runaway ramps is not the Keysers Ridge climb. That grade is Big Savage Mountain, well to the east toward Cumberland, around milepost 67. Keysers Ridge is the weather summit. Big Savage is the brake test. They are two different places on the same highway.

• Highest point on I-68 and the highest spot on any Maryland interstate, inside Exit 14 (Wikipedia I-68; VisitMaryland)
• Elevation cited at about 2,880 to 2,894 ft; sources disagree (Wikipedia I-68 gives 2,880 ft; Keysers Ridge article and VisitMaryland give ~2,894 ft)
• Exit 14 is a cloverleaf where I-68 meets US 219 (14A) and US 40 (14B), with US 40 ALT tying in nearby (Wikipedia I-68)
• The Eastern Continental Divide on I-68 falls between Finzel and Keysers Ridge (Wikipedia I-68; Waymarking ECD sign)
• Garrett County around the ridge is the snowiest part of Maryland; SHA logged 272.4 inches near Keysers Ridge in winter 2009-10 (Cumberland Times-News, March 1, 2010)
• Maryland runs no chain-control system: no chain levels, no chain-up areas, no brake-check stations (Maryland tire/chain-law summaries; ATA chain-law table)
• Named for William Keyser, a vice president of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (Wikipedia, Keysers Ridge, Maryland)

There is no chain-control season here, because Maryland does not operate a chain-control system. No chain levels, no chain-up areas, no brake-check stations on I-68 or anywhere in the state. Chains are at the driver's discretion for snow and ice. Maryland law can require chains only during a declared snow emergency on designated highways, and even then that requirement does not apply to vehicles over 10,000 lb, so it does not reach loaded commercial trucks. In short, nobody is going to chain you up at Keysers Ridge, and there is no gate that closes for the winter. I-68 over the ridge is a year-round interstate. When it closes, it closes for an incident (a crash, a hazmat spill, heavy fog) and reopens once the scene clears, usually after several hours.

I-68 reached Keysers Ridge in two stages in the mid-1970s. The 14-mile segment from the West Virginia state line up to Keysers Ridge opened in November 1975 (Roadstothefuture.com gives November 13, Wikipedia gives November 15, a one-day discrepancy). The 13-mile segment from Finzel Road east to Keysers Ridge opened on August 13, 1976, connecting the ridge eastward. The full corridor was finished and designated Interstate 68 on August 2, 1991. The whole project, Appalachian Corridor E, ran from 1963 to 1991 at about $481 million (Roadstothefuture.com; Wikipedia I-68).

The ridge had a rough reputation long before the interstate. On the old National Road, travelers feared Keysers Ridge for its harsh weather, owing to its ridgetop position (Wikipedia, Keysers Ridge, Maryland). The modern record bears that out. In winter 2009-10, SHA measured 272.4 inches of snow at its garage near Keysers Ridge, beating the old mark of 244.4 inches from 2002-03 (Cumberland Times-News, March 1, 2010). Wikipedia gives slightly different numbers for that season, 262.5 inches against a prior 233.5-inch record, so the figures are not settled.