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U.S. Route 301 in Maryland

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 128.63.16.45 (talk) at 19:02, 10 June 2013 (→‎History: Mention the split from US 50.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

U.S. Route 301 marker

U.S. Route 301

Route information
Maintained by MDSHA
Length123.30 mi[1] (198.43 km)
Existed1940–present
Major junctions
South end US 301 at Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge
Major intersections MD 5 in Brandywine

MD 4 in Upper Marlboro
US 50 in Bowie
I-97 in Annapolis
MD 2 in Annapolis
MD 18 near Queenstown
MD 213 near Centreville

MD 313 near Galena
North end US 301 in Warwick
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMaryland
Highway system
MD 300 MD 301
"Blue Star Memorial Highway (Maryland)" redirects here. See also, U.S. Route 50 in Maryland#Blue Star Memorial Highway

U.S. Route 301 in Maryland is a major highway that runs from Delaware to the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge into Virginia. It passes through three of Maryland's four main regions: the Eastern Shore, the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, and Southern Maryland. US 301 serves mainly as a bypass of Baltimore and Washington from Delaware to Virginia.

Route description

Robert Crain Highway

The Robert Crain Highway in Prince George's County

US 301 is a minimum of four lanes throughout the state of Maryland. It enters the state via the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge and joins the original route of Maryland Route 3 near the town of Newburg in Charles County. Between the Potomac River and the city of Bowie, the route is known as the Robert Crain Highway. Running north, the highway serves the towns of La Plata, Waldorf (where it briefly overlaps MD 5), Brandywine, Upper Marlboro (where it interchanges with MD 4 the Stephanie Roper Highway) , and Bowie before joining US 50 in Bowie and meeting the southern terminus of MD 3, which continues along the Crain Highway to I-97 and MD 32.

John Hanson Highway

Now following US 50 (and secret I-595) east along the John Hanson Highway, the route serves Annapolis and crosses the Severn River via the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge before traversing Sandy Point State Park to the foot of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The route meets the southern terminus of Interstate 97, which connects to the highway near the western terminus of MD 665, a freeway spur into downtown Annapolis. US 301 connects to other local highways such as MD 450, MD 2 (which joins the route at this interchange), and MD 70. At MD 70, secret I-595 ends, and US 50, US 301 and MD 2 continue across the Severn River. Both highways form an effective freeway bypass of Annapolis, but both highways also experience enormous backups in the eastbound direction during the summer months due to heavy tourist traffic attempting to cross the Chesapeake Bay. Along the Annapolis section, the freeway takes on a blue star memorial highway designation.

Blue Star Memorial Highway

After crossing the Severn River, the Blue Star Memorial Highway designation becomes the road's name, Blue Star Memorial Highway. Upon crossing the Chesapeake Bay, US 301 enters Queen Anne's County at Kent Island. Continuing east, the highway leaves the island and enters the Delmarva Peninsula as it crosses the Kent Narrows via a high-level bridge (with MD 18 making use of the original drawbridge). US 301 and US 50 separate near Queenstown. At the split, US 50 continues as the Ocean Gateway to Ocean City. The segment between the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and the 50-301 split is noted for the many right-in/right-out interchanges with MD 18 and MD 835, a legacy of the days when the route was a four-lane at-grade expressway.

Downgrading from a six-lane freeway to a four-lane at-grade expressway, the route runs north, serving as one of the backbones of the Delmarva Peninsula. Still known as the Blue Star Memorial Highway, the route connects with several major highways in the northern segment of the Eastern Shore, including MD 213 and MD 313. It narrows abruptly to a two-lane country road as it enters the state of Delaware.

History

In 1940, the completion of the Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge heralded the entry of US 301 into Maryland. A short connector between the northern end of the bridge and MD 3 resulted in the majority of the latter route being taken over by US 301, with only a small portion remaining signed as MD 3 (this portion is now MD 257).

Originally, the route went all the way along former MD 3 into Baltimore and ended near present-day Maryland Route 295 Russell Street. As US 301, it was upgraded into a four- and six-lane divided highway throughout in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s, the route was rerouted along US 50 to the Eastern Shore where it split from US 50 and was routed from there up former Maryland Route 71 into Delaware. Today, Route 301 is a multi-lane highway throughout its path through the state with the exception of the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge; the nine miles (14 km) of MD 3 between US 50 and Interstate 97 is also a four- and six-lane divided highway and is part of the same continuous physical route.

The segment of the highway between the eastern end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and the US 50/US 301 split in Queenstown was originally built as a four-lane at-grade divided expressway. By the late 1980s, traffic levels were so high that the route was upgraded into a six-lane grade-separated limited-access expressway, with most of the intersections converted into right-in/right-out interchanges, and a few others being converted into more standard interchanges. The upgrade of the route was completed by the early 1990s.

Future developments

  • As the route enters Delaware, it becomes a two-lane roadway. However, plans exist to replace U.S. Route 301 in Delaware with a tolled freeway that will link the divided US 301 in Maryland with Delaware Route 1, providing a multi-lane alternative to Interstate 95 between Northern Delaware and Washington, D.C.
  • A group known as the Eastern Shoreway Alliance is seeking to have US 301 from Queenstown to the Delaware line redesignated as the Eastern Shoreway [1], similar to the Ocean Gateway designation of US 50 to the south.

Junction list

CountyLocationmi
[2]
kmExitDestinationsNotes
King GeorgeDahlgren0.000.00
US 301 south (James Madison Highway) – Richmond
Southern terminus of US 301 in Maryland; Virginia state line at Potomac River
Potomac River0.00–
1.90
0.00–
3.06
Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge / Potomac River Bridge
CharlesNewburg2.173.49Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge Toll Plaza (southbound)
3.816.13
MD 257 south (Rock Point Road) – Cobb Island
Directional crossover intersection
Allens Fresh5.769.27
MD 234 east (Budds Creek Road) – Leonardtown
Directional crossover intersection
La Plata14.8123.83 MD 6 (Charles Street/Port Tobacco Road) – Port Tobacco
15.5425.01
MD 225 west (Hawthorne Road) – Indian Head
White Plains19.5531.46
MD 227 west (Marshall Corner Road) – Pomfret
20.7733.43Billingsley RoadBillingsley Road east is MD 925A
Waldorf23.3137.51

MD 228 west (Berry Road) / MD 5 Bus. south (Leonardtown Road) – Accokeek, Hughesville
26.0441.91Mattawoman DriveMattawoman Drive is MD 5K
26.2642.26
MD 5 south (Mattawoman Beantown Road) – Lexington Park, Leonardtown
No direct access from northbound MD 5 to southbound US 301; missing connections made via Mattawoman Drive; south end of concurrency with MD 5
Prince George'sBrandywine28.9046.51
MD 5 north (Branch Avenue) – Washington
Northbound exit, southbound entrance; north end of concurrency with MD 5
29.2046.99
MD 381 south (Brandywine Road) – AquascoModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated
Marlton36.6258.93
MD 382 south (Croom Road) – Aquasco
Upper Marlboro40.3764.97 MD 4 (Stephanie Roper Highway) – Prince Frederick, WashingtonCloverleaf interchange
41.0866.11
MD 725 west (Marlboro Pike)Module:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated
Bowie46.2274.38Old Central AvenueOld Central Avenue is MD 978B
46.3674.61 MD 214 (Central Avenue) – WashingtonPartial cloverleaf interchange; no access from northbound US 301 to eastbound MD 214 or from eastbound MD 214 to southbound US 301; missing movements made via Old Central Avenue
49.4279.53
MD 197 north (Collington Road) – Laurel
50.2880.9213

US 50 west (John Hanson Highway) / MD 3 north (Robert Crain Highway) – Washington, CroftonModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated
Split into exits 13A (US 301 south), 13B (MD 3), and 13C (Melford); south end of concurrencies with US 50 and I-595
Anne Arundel53.7086.4216 MD 424 (Davidsonville Road) – Davidsonville, Crofton
Parole58.4894.1121
I-97 north – Baltimore
59.5495.8222
MD 665 east (Aris T. Allen Boulevard)Module:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated
60.2096.8823
MD 450 (West Street) to MD 178 – Parole, Crownsville
60.6597.6123A
MD 2 south (Solomons Island Road) – Parole, Prince FrederickModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated
No exit eastbound; west end of concurrency with MD 2
61.9299.6524
MD 70 south (Roscoe Rowe Boulevard) – AnnapolisModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated
Split into exits 24A (MD 70) and 24B (Bestgate Road) westbound; eastern terminus of unsigned I-595
Severn River62.64–
63.19
100.81–
101.69
Severn River Bridge / Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge
Arnold63.83102.7227

MD 2 north / MD 450 south (Governor Ritchie Highway) – Severna Park, Naval Academy, Baltimore
Split into exits 27A (MD 450) and 27B (MD 2) westbound; east end of concurrency with MD 2
64.13103.21Baltimore–Annapolis Boulevard northUnmarked right-in/right-out interchange westbound; officially MD 648F
64.78104.2528Bay Dale Drive to Old Mill Bottom Road / Ferguson Road
Cape St. Claire66.31106.7229 MD 179 (St. Margarets Road/Cape St. Claire Road) / MD 908Module:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecatedSplit into exits 29A (Busch's Frontage Road) and 29B (Cape St. Claire Road) eastbound; Busch's Frontage Road and East College Parkway are MD 908A and MD 908B, respectively
66.82107.5430Whitehall RoadEastbound exit and entrance; Whitehall Road is MD 908C
67.80109.1131Whitehall RoadRight-in/right-out interchange eastbound; Whitehall Road is MD 908C
Skidmore68.60110.4032Oceanic Drive – Sandy Point State ParkOceanic Drive is MD 908D
68.89110.87Chesapeake Bay Bridge Toll Plaza (eastbound)
Chesapeake Bay69.26–
73.32
111.46–
118.00
Chesapeake Bay Bridge / William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge
Queen Anne'sStevensville74.38119.7037 MD 8 (Business Parkway) – Stevensville, Romancoke
75.03120.7538ADuke StreetRight-in/right-out interchange westbound
75.05120.7838AThompson Creek RoadRight-in/right-out interchange eastbound
Chester76.02122.3438BServicesWestbound exit and entrance; frontage road is US 50QC
76.14122.5439ACox Neck RoadRight-in/right-out interchange eastbound
76.15122.5539ACastle Marina Road to MD 18Right-in/right-out interchange westbound; Castle Marina Road is MD 18H
76.65123.3639BPiney Creek RoadRight-in/right-out interchange westbound; Piney Creek Road is MD 18T; connector road is MD 552A (Chester Station Road)
76.67123.3939B
MD 552 south (Dominion Road)
Right-in/right-out interchange eastbound
77.30124.4040ASouth Piney RoadRight-in/right-out interchange eastbound
77.33124.4540APiney Creek RoadRight-in/right-out interchange westbound
77.68125.0140BDundee AvenueRight-in/right-out interchange eastbound
Kent Narrows77.92125.4041 MD 18 (Main Street) – Kent Narrows WestWestbound ramps are with Piney Narrows Road
Kent Narrows78.20–
78.78
125.85–
126.78
Kent Narrows Bridge
Kent Narrows79.08127.2742 MD 18 (Main Street) – Kent Narrows EastWestbound right-in/right-out interchange with MD 835G (Kent Narrows Road); eastbound right-in/right-out interchange with MD 835 (Seward Marina Road)
Grasonville79.76128.3643AJackson Creek RoadWestbound right-in/right-out interchange; Jackson Creek Road is MD 18U
79.78128.3943A MD 18 (Main Street) – GrasonvilleEastbound right-in/right-out interchange with unnamed MD 18F
80.53129.6043BChester River Beach RoadNo westbound exit; Chester River Beach road is MD 18V
80.93130.2444AVFW AvenueWestbound right-in/right-out interchange; VFW Avenue is MD 18W
80.94130.2644AStation LaneEastbound right-in/right-out interchange; Station Lane is MD 18I
81.29130.8244BWinchester Creek RoadWestbound right-in/right-out interchange; Winchester Creek Road is MD 835H
81.30130.8444BEvans AvenueEastbound right-in/right-out interchange; Evans Avenue is MD 18Z
81.63131.3745AHissey RoadWestbound right-in/right-out interchange; Hissey Road is MD 835I
81.64131.3945AHess RoadEastbound right-in/right-out interchange; Hess Road is MD 18X
82.06132.0645BNesbit RoadNesbit Road is MD 835K
Queenstown83.25133.9846
US 50 east (Ocean Gateway) – Ocean City
Northbound exit, southbound entrance; north end of concurrency with US 50
83.81134.88 MD 18 (Outlet Center Drive/Main Street)Superstreet intersection; Outlet Center Drive is MD 18S and Main Street is MD 18C
84.31135.68 MD 456 (Del Rhodes Avenue)Superstreet intersection
89.01143.25 MD 213 (Centreville Road) – Centreville, Wye MillsPartial cloverleaf interchange
91.91147.91 MD 304 (Ruthsburg Road) – Centreville, RuthsburgSuperstreet intersection
93.60150.63 MD 305 (Hope Road) – Centreville
96.37155.09Hayden Clark Road – Bay Country Welcome CenterHayden Clark Road is MD 834
Price98.38158.33 MD 405 (Price Station Road) – Church Hill, Bridgetown
100.00160.93 MD 19 (Roberts Station Road) – Church Hill, Ingleside
101.54163.41
MD 302 east (Barclay Road) – BarclayModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated
103.83167.10 MD 300 (Sudlersville Road) – Church Hill, Sudlersville, DoverSuperstreet intersection
106.00170.59 MD 290 (Dudley Corner Road) – CrumptonInterchange
109.22175.77 MD 544 (McGinnes Road) – Millington, CrumptonSuperstreet intersection
Kent111.21178.98 MD 291 (River Road) – Millington, ChestertownRight-in/right-out intersections with MD 701 (Howard Johnson Road) northbound and MD 701A (Edge Road) southbound
115.10185.24 MD 313 (Massey Galena Road) – Galena, MasseySuperstreet intersection
Sassafras118.72191.06 MD 290 (Galena Sassafras Road) – Galena, ChestertownDiamond interchange
Cecil120.34193.67
MD 299 south (Massey Sassafras Road) – Sassafras, WarwickModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated
Warwick122.85197.71
US 301 north (Middletown Warwick Road) – Middletown, Wilmington
Northern terminus of US 301 in Maryland; Delaware state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. ^ MDRoads: US 301 URL accessed 17 June 2008
  2. ^ Highway Information Services Division (December 31, 2011). Highway Location Reference. Maryland State Highway Administration. Retrieved 2012-09-08.

External links

KML is from Wikidata


U.S. Route 301
Previous state:
Virginia
Maryland Next state:
Delaware


Template:Roads in Charles County, Maryland Template:Roads in Prince Georges County, Maryland Template:Roads in Baltimore area