U.S. Route 340 (US 340) is a spur route of US 40, and runs f
rom Greenville, Virginia to Frederick, Maryland. In Virginia, it runs north–south, parallel and east of US 11, from US 11 north of Greenville via Waynesboro, Grottoes, Elkton, Luray, Front Royal, and Berryville to the West Virginia state line. A short separate piece crosses northern Loudoun County on its way from West Virginia to Maryland.
In West Virginia, it runs north–south in Jefferson County, between Clarke County, Virginia and Loudoun County, Virginia. It is the main route between Charles Town and Harpers Ferry, and it is known as the William L. Wilson Freeway through that stretch. The southern portion of the highway, between the Virginia state line and Charles Town, is known as Berryville Pike.
In Maryland, the U.S. highway runs east-west, for 17.01 miles (27.37 km) from the Virginia state line at the Potomac River at Sandy Hook east to its northern (eastern) terminus at US 15 and US 40 (the Frederick Freeway) in Frederick. US 340, which is known for most of its length as Jefferson National Pike, connects Frederick with the communities of Jefferson, Brunswick, and Knoxville in the southern part of the Middletown Valley of western Frederick County and Weverton in far southern Washington County. The U.S. highway also links Frederick with Harpers Ferry and Charles Town in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. US 340 is a part of the National Highway System for its entire length in Maryland.
US 340 was one of the original state roads designated by the Maryland State Roads Commission. The state road was constructed from Frederick to Knoxville in the early 1910s and completed to Harpers Ferry in 1919. The highway was designated Maryland's portion of US 340 in 1926. US 340 originally crossed the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry; however, the U.S. highway's bridge was destroyed by a flood in 1936. The modern US 340 Bridge was constructed at Sandy Hook between 1940 and 1947, with a long interruption due to World War II. The U.S. highway's freeway between Weverton and Frederick was constructed in the 1960s. Old sections of US 340 became part of Maryland Route 180 (MD 180).
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