U.S. 301 North - Governor Nice Bridge to Waldorf

Mile zero for U.S. 301 in Maryland coincides with the state line along the western banks of the Potomac River.

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Construction on the replacement Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial/Senator Thomas "Mac" Middleton Bridge started in July 2020. The $463 million design-build project ran through early 2023, but the four lane replacement opened to traffic on October 13, 2022.

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The Potomac River flows southeast from the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial/Senator Thomas "Mac" Middleton Bridge to Chesapeake Bay.

06/25/10

Lower Cedar Point juts into the Potomac River from Morgantown, Maryland to the east. Colonial Beach, Virginia spreads across the southern horizon.

06/25/10

The original Potomac River Bridge opened to traffic on December 15, 1940. It was renamed to honor Governor Harry W. Nice in April 1968.¹

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Including the approaches, the former Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge was 2.2 miles long.¹ The new span is 1.7 miles long.

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The old Governor Nice Memorial/Senator Middletown Bridge provided a vertical clearance of 135 feet over the Potomac River.¹ The new span does as well.

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$765 million in funding was announced by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan on November 21, 2016 for the replacement of the Nice Bridge.²

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The former continuous truss bridge accommodated just two 11 foot wide lanes. The new span provides four 12 foot wide lanes and two foot shoulders.

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The Morgantown Generating Station lies just south of U.S. 301 along the east banks of the Potomac River.

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Two years of demolition work on the 1940 span commenced after traffic switched to the new bridge.

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The Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA) recorded 18,752 vehicles per day (vpd) for U.S. 301 across the Potomac River in 2009. and 18,634 vpd in 2019.

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Northbound travelers on U.S. 301 bypass an all electronic toll (AET) gantry at Cobb Neck in Charles County, Maryland.

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U.S. 301 travels 26.27 miles north through Charles County.

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U.S. 301 (Crain Highway) expands with a grass median beyond the Maryland welcome sign.

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A Maryland welcome center follows in one half mile along the northbound side of U.S. 301.

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U.S. 301 (Crain Highway) intersects Orland Park Road west to Aqua Land campground and marina and the access road to the Morgantown Generating Station.

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Confirming marker posted after Orland Park Road on Crain Highway north.

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Northbound U.S. 301 at the Crain Memorial Welcome Center. The facility is accessible from both directions of Crain Highway.

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U.S. 301 trailblazer at the Crain Memorial Welcome Center.

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MD 257 (Rock Point Road) leads south along Cobb Neck to MD 254 and Cobb Island. Swan Point Road stems west from the state route to Swan Point Neck.

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The junction shield for MD 257 (Rock Point Road) on U.S. 301 north was missing by 2021.

06/25/10

MD 257 spurs 9.75 miles from U.S. 301 (Crain Highway) to MD 254 (Cobb Island Road).

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MD 257 originally ended at Rock Point but was truncated westward to the north end of MD 254.

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U.S. 301 leaves MD 257 and Newburg. Edge Hill Road loops 1.96 miles west from Rock Point Road to a point just south of MD 234. The local road represents an old alignment of U.S. 301 and even older MD 3.

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La Plata, the Charles County seat, is 14 miles north from the Virginia state line via U.S. 301 north.

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A second distance sign outlines the distances to Bel Alton, Washington (via MD 5 north), Baltimore (via MD 3 / I-97 north), and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (U.S. 50).

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The west end of MD 234 (Budds Creek Road) ties into U.S. 301 near Allens Fresh in one half mile.

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The settlement of Glasva lies along U.S. 301 at Edge Hill Road.

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MD 234 heads 6.36 miles east from U.S. 301 (Crain Highway) through Newport into St. Marys County. Leonardtown is the county seat and Naval Air Station Patuxent River and Lexington Park lie further east via MD 4 and MD 5.

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MD 234 is a 19.02 mile long route stretching between U.S. 301 and MD 5 near Leonardtown. MD 236 connects MD 234 with MD 5 south of Hughesville.

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Baltimore is 72 miles north of MD 234 via the original route of U.S. 301, which included MD 3, I-97 and an overlap with I-695.

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U.S. 301 progresses north into the unincorporated community of Faulkner.

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Faulkner Road intersects U.S. 301 ahead of this reassurance marker.

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Curving northward, U.S. 301 next enters the unincorporated community of Bel Alton.

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Bel Alton Newtown Road branches northeast from U.S. 301, 4.38 miles to MD 6 (Charles Street) at Newtown.

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Confirming marker posted north of MD 228 (Berry Road) and MD 5 Business (Leonardtown Road) in Waldorf. The six lane arterial continues three miles north to combine with MD 5 across Mattawoman Creek into Prince Georges County.

09/25/04

MD 5 combines with U.S. 301 (Crain Highway) north at Mattawoman Creek and the north side of Waldorf.

12/16/22

Mattawoman Creek separates Charles from Prince George's County on U.S. 301/MD 5 northbound.

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