Canal Parkway

Canal Parkway
Maryland Route 61
Canal Parkway highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDSHA
Length	1.94 mi[1] (3.12 km)
Existed	2001–present
Tourist routes	Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Scenic Byway
Major junctions
South end	WV 28 in Cumberland
North end	MD 51 in Cumberland
Location
Country	United States
State	Maryland
Counties	Allegany
Highway system
Maryland highway system Interstate US State Scenic Byways
← MD 60 → MD 62

Canal Parkway, which carries the unsigned Maryland Route 61 (MD 61) designation, is a state highway and automobile parkway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The road begins at the West Virginia state line at the North Branch Potomac River opposite Wiley Ford, where the highway continues south as West Virginia Route 28 (WV 28). The parkway runs 1.94 miles (3.12 km) north to MD 51 within the city of Cumberland. Canal Parkway provides a connection between downtown Cumberland and the South Cumberland neighborhood and with Greater Cumberland Regional Airport, which is located in Mineral County, West Virginia.

Canal Parkway was constructed as part of a broad group of projects to revitalize the North Branch Potomac River waterfront of Cumberland, centered on the historical Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O Canal). The parkway was constructed both as a scenic highway and to improve access to South Cumberland and the airport, which were often cut off from the rest of Cumberland by flooding or traffic jams at the sole connecting point, a railroad underpass on Virginia Avenue. New bridges over the North Branch Potomac River and the C&O Canal were built in 1992 and 1997, while the portion of Canal Parkway from the canal crossing toward downtown Cumberland was constructed between 1999 and 2001.