U.S. 301

U.S. 301 represents a heavily traveled alternate route east of Washington between the Governor Nice/Senator Middletown Bridge over the Potomac River and the city of Bowie. The four to six lane arterial serves the suburban communities of LaPlata, Waldorf and St. Charles among others between the Virginia state line and Interstate 595 / U.S. 50.

U.S. 301 combines with the U.S. 50 along a freeway from Bowie east to Annapolis, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Queenstown on the Eastern Shore. An unsigned route, Interstate 595 underlays U.S. 50/301 east to MD 70 / Exit 24 at Parole. Accommodating five lanes overall on two suspension bridges, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge crosses the Chesapeake Bay between Sandy Point and Kent Island. U.S. 301 and U.S. 50 split at the freeway end in Queenstown. U.S. 50 turns south to Easton, Cambridge and Salisbury while U.S. 301 heads northeast to Centreville, Churchville and Middletown, Delaware

U.S. 301 follows a four lane expressway through Queen Anne's, Kent and Cecil Counties on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The controlled access highway has a number of grade separations and RCUT intersections limiting crossing traffic. There are no signalized intersections. U.S. 301 transitions into the tolled First Responders Memorial Highway beyond MD 299 at the Delaware state line.

U.S. 301 replaced MD 71 along the corridor between Queenstown and the Delaware state line in 1960.¹ It originally continued north from Bowie into Baltimore city along MD 3. With U.S. 301 rerouted onto the Eastern Shore, it eventually resulted in the decommissioning of U.S. 213 from Wye Mills north to Elkton. The four lane highway provides a regional bypass of Baltimore for long distance travelers. However efforts to upgrade U.S. 301 into a fully limited access highway have been slow, as strong opposition from Eastern Shore residents remains.

U.S. 301 Maryland Guides

Governor Harry S. Nice Bridge

Opened to traffic in December 1940, the former continuous truss bridge carrying U.S. 301 across the Potomac River was replaced with a new crossing located approximately 100 feet to the north. The four lane span will accommodate bicycles and pedestrians with a separated multi use path scheduled for completion in 2023. Preliminary design and engineering for the replacement bridge was completed under a $15 million contract awarded in 2015. Funding for the $765 million project was finally dedicated in an announcement made by Governor Larry Hogan on November 21, 2016. Construction commenced in July 2020,² with the new bridge opened to traffic months ahead of schedule on October 13, 2022.

Connect with:
Interstate 97
U.S. 50
Route 2
Route 4
Route 5
Route 213
Route 299
Route 313

Page Updated 01-14-2023.