 Maryland Route 56 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Pool Road | ||||
 Maryland Route 56 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by MDSHA | ||||
| Length | 8.08 mi[1] (13.00 km) | |||
| Existed | 1927–present | |||
| Tourist routes |  Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Scenic Byway Historic National Road Scenic Byway | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  I-70 in Big Pool | |||
| East end |  MD 68 near Pinesburg | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Maryland | |||
| Counties | Washington | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Maryland Route 56 (MD 56) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Big Pool Road, the state highway runs 8.08 miles (13.00 km) from Interstate 70 (I-70) in Big Pool east to MD 68 near Pinesburg in western Washington County. MD 56, which features a pair of one-lane bridges, provides access to Fort Frederick State Park and the eastern trailhead of the Western Maryland Rail Trail. The state highway was first constructed in the mid 1910s from what is now U.S. Route 40 (US 40) south to Big Pool. The highway was extended east toward the village of Big Spring in the early 1930s and to MD 68 in the late 1950s. MD 56 was truncated at I-70 in the mid-1990s.