Maryland Route 4

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MD 4

St. Andrews Church Road, Patuxent Beach Road, Solomons Island Road, Southern Maryland Boulevard, Pennsylvania Avenue

Length:

64.85 mi (104.37 km)

Decomd.:

N/A

From:

MD 5 near Leonardtown

Major
junctions:

MD 235 in California

MD 2 (south) near Solomons Island

MD 231 near Prince Frederick

MD 2 (north) near Mt. Zion (Lothian)

US 301 near Upper Marlboro

MD 337 near Suitland

I-95/I-495 near Suitland

To:

Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.

Highways in Maryland
State highways - Minor - Decommissioned

Maryland Route 4 is a long highway that runs northwest to southeast in Maryland.

1 Counties traversed
2 Cities and towns
3 Route description
4 Points of interest
5 Junction list
6 History
7 Notes
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] Counties traversed

[edit] Cities and towns

MD 4 directly serves the following cities and towns:

Suitland
Meadows
Upper Marlboro
Bristol
Lyons Creek
Dunkirk
Chaneyville
Stoakley
Prince Frederick
Lusby
California
Town Creek
Leonardtown

[edit] Route description

[edit] Pennsylvania Avenue

The highway begins in Suitland, Maryland at the state line with Washington, DC (from former District of Columbia Route 4). MD 4 once exited the District along Marlboro Pike, but was diverted to its current route, known as Pennsylvania Ave. when the latter was extended into Maryland as a four-lane divided highway.

The highway runs straight out of D.C. to the southeast, interchanging with the Capital Beltway north of Suitland Parkway and south of District Heights. The route turns south after crossing the Beltway and intersects the eastern terminus of Suitland Parkway after a short distance. It continues in a southward direction for a short distance before intersecting Marlboro Pike, a former alignment of MD 4; it then turns east and upgrades into a four-lane limited-access freeway.

Running almost due east, MD 4 runs through undeveloped forest and parkland, intersecting various local roads as it continues away from Washington. It interchanges with the southern terminus of Ritchie-Marlboro Rd. near Federal Springs Park. As it enters Upper Marlboro it interchanges with Old Crain Highway (a former alignment of US 301), Water St (a short connector into the downtown area), and US 301 itself within the space of 1.5 miles.

[edit] Southern Maryland Blvd.

After crossing the Patuxent River and entering Anne Arundel County, the route becomes known as Southern Maryland Boulevard. It quickly intersects the western terminus of MD 408, originally part of MD 4 before the construction of the current route in 1964-1966, just beyond the river and turns south again after intersecting the western terminus of MD 258 in Bristol. Beyond the MD 258 wye, MD 4 downgrades into a four-lane at-grade divided highway.

Turning south again the highway interchanges with the northern terminus of MD 260 near Twin Shields Golf Club. It continues south, running along the eastern boundary of Dunkirk District Park in Dunkirk.

[edit] MD 2-4

Maryland 2-4 sign used on some places along MD 2/MD 4

Route 4 meets with Maryland Route 2 in Calvert County, near the town of Sunderland. MD 4 intersects both MD 262 and MD 2 in the same general area. The two are multiplexed as "Route 2/4" for 26.9 miles. After joining MD 2, both highways are now known as Solomons Island Road.

Both highways continue running nearly due south, intersecting the western end of MD 575 north of Huntingtown and the western end of MD 263 south of same. In the town of Prince Frederick both routes bypass the downtown area while MD 765 follows the original alignment; the two routes also intersect the eastern terminus of MD 231 and the western terminus of MD 402 within the town. South of Prince Frederick the highway gains a second name, the Louis L. Goldstein Highway.

Continuing south, the highway reaches the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, passing close to Flag Ponds Nature Park before passing close to Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant and Calvert Cliffs State Park near Lusby. Continuing south the two highways finally split from one another next to the Naval Surface Weapons Center near Solomons, with MD 2 continuing south to terminate at the island, while MD 4 turns southwest to cross the Patuxent River over the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge.

[edit] St. Andrews Church Road

Now in St. Mary's County, MD 4 changes names again, becoming known as Patuxent Beach Road for a short distance as it continues southwest to California, where it intersects MD 235. South of MD 235 the highway changes names for the final time, to St. Andrews Church Road, and turns west as a rural highway to eventually terminate at MD 5 south of Leonardtown.

[edit] Points of interest

Cedar Hill Cemetery
Suitland Community Park
Suitland Parkway
Andrews Air Force Base
Federal Springs Park
Patuxent River Park
Dunkirk District Park
Flag Ponds Nature Park
Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant
Calvert Cliffs State Park
Patuxent Naval Air Test Center
St. Mary's River State Park
Breton Bay

[edit] Junction list

County	Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
St. Mary's	Leonardtown	0.0	Maryland Route 5 / Leonardtown Rd. - St. Mary's City, Mechanicsville	southern terminus of
St. Mary's	California	6.1	Maryland Route 235 / 3 Notch Rd. - Hollywood, Lexington Park (to Patuxent Naval Air Test Center)
crosses the Patuxent River (Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge)
Calvert	Johnstown	10.1	Maryland Route 2 south / Solomons Island Rd. - Solomons	joins
	multiplex begins
			Maryland Route 765 north / HG Trueman Rd.	former alignment of
	Appeal	12.5	Maryland Route 760 south / Rousby Hall Rd. - Drum Point
	Bertha	13.6	Maryland Route 497 east / Cove Point Rd. - Cove Point, Cove Point Park
	Lusby		Maryland Route 765 / HG Trueman Rd. - Calvert Cliffs State Park	former alignment of
			Maryland Route 765 north / Calvert Cliffs Parkway east - Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant	runs north of
			Maryland Route 765 south / Flag Pond Parkway north - Flag Ponds Nature Park	runs south of
			Maryland Route 765 north / St. Leonard Rd. - Long Beach	runs north of
		23.9	Maryland Route 264 south / Broomes Island Rd. / Maryland Route 765 south / St. Leonard Rd. - Broomes Island	runs south of
		25.5	Maryland Route 506 south / Sixes Rd. - Battle Creek Cyprus Swamp Sanctuary (to MD 508)
		26.2	Maryland Route 765 north / Main St. - Prince Frederick	southern terminus of former alignment of
	Prince Frederick		Maryland Route 231 west / Hallowing Point Rd. - Benedict, Hallowing Point State Park
			Maryland Route 765 south / Main St.	northern terminus of former alignment of
		28.5	Maryland Route 402 east / Dares Beach Rd. - Dares Beach
		31.3	Maryland Route 263 east / Plum Point Rd. - Plum Point (to MD 261)
	Huntingtown	33.5	Maryland Route 524 north / Old Town Rd.	southern terminus of former alignment of
	Huntingtown	34.2	Maryland Route 524 south / Old Town Rd.	northern terminus of former alignment of
			Maryland Route 575 east / Ponds Wood Rd. - to MD 261
		37.0	Maryland Route 2 north / Solomons Island Rd. - Sunderland, Annapolis	diverges from
	multiplex ends
		37.6	Maryland Route 262 / Lower Marlboro Rd. - Lower Marlboro	forms third side of / intersection
			W Mt. Harmony Rd. - to MD 2
	Lyons Creek	45.6	Maryland Route 260 south / Chesapeake Beach Rd. - Twin Shields Golf Club, Owings (to MD 2)
Anne Arundel	Bristol	47.3	Maryland Route 258 east / W Bay Front Rd. - Deale	upgrades into four-lane limited-access freeway
			Plummer Rd.	direct turnoff from eastbound carriageway
			Service Rd.-Southern Maryland Blvd.	right-out from eastbound carriageway to Service Rd., right-out from westbound carriageway to Southern Maryland Blvd.
		50.1	Maryland Route 408 east / Marlboro Rd. - Mount Zion (Lothian) (to MD 2)	former route of before 1964-1966
Prince George's		51.1	Maryland Route 726 / Old Marlboro Pike	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Upper Marlboro	52.0	US 301 / Robert Crain Highway - Waldorf, Bowie	former route of
			Maryland Route 717 / Water St. - to MD 725
		52.6	Old Crain Highway - to MD 202	former route of
			Ritchie-Marlboro Rd. - Federal Springs Park	left exit and entrance from eastbound carriageway
		56.9	Maryland Route 223 south / Woodyard Rd. - Mellwood, Piscatawny
			Dower House Rd.-Marlboro Pike	downgrades into four-lane at-grade expressway
	Suitland	59.0	Maryland Route 337 west / Suitland Pkwy.-Allentown Rd.-Presidental Pkwy. - Andrews Air Force Base, Suitland Parkway	runs west of and diverges onto Allentown Rd.
			Westphalia Rd.-Old Marlboro Pike
		60.0	I-95/I-495 / Capital Beltway - Baltimore, Richmond VA
			Forestville Rd. - to Suitland Parkway, Marlboro Pike	Marlboro Pike does not cross
		62.5	Maryland Route 458 / Silver Hill Rd. - District Heights, Hillcrest Heights
			Brooks Dr. - to Marlboro Pike	Marlboro Pike is former alignment of and
			Alton St.-Shadyside Ave.
		64.6	Southern Ave. - Fort Dupont Park, Cedar Hill Cemetery	Southern Ave. forms D.C. line
ends at Washington D.C. line; Pennsylvania Ave. continues into D.C.

[edit] History

MD 4 is one of the original state highways, originally being designated as Marlboro Pike through Upper Marlboro. It then continued east, following the alignment of MD 408, to its original eastern terminus in Mount Zion (Lothian). Between 1962 and 1972, MD 4 was diverted onto Southern Maryland Blvd and multiplexed with MD 2 (replacing MD 2's companion route, MD 416) for nearly the entire length of Calvert County. Before the construction of the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge, MD 2-4 ended simultaneously at the southern tip of the county; after the bridge was built MD 4 was diverted across it to terminate at MD 5 south of Leonardtown.

[edit] Notes

MD 4 is part of the National Highway System between the District line and Maryland Route 235.
It is marked as west/east in Prince George's County, and north/south elsewhere, except on the Capital Beltway, which on the exit signage shows "East/South" and "West/North".
The gradients on the 4-lane divided portion of MD 4 in Calvert County are quite steep in places; very little grading appears to have been done to the roadbed before paving.