Maryland Route 304
Encyclopedia
Maryland Route 304 is a state highway
in the U.S. state
of Maryland
. The state highway runs 15.23 miles (24.5 km) from Spider Web Road west of Centreville
east to MD 312
in Bridgetown. MD 304 connects Centreville with U.S. Route 301
(US 301) and several small settlements in central Queen Anne's County
and northern Caroline
, including Ruthsburg
and Bridgetown. MD 304 originally consisted of its present streets in Centreville and a short piece of road to the east. The state highway was gradually extended eastward across central Queen Anne's County
in the late 1930s and 1940s, reaching Ruthsburg in 1948. West of Centreville, MD 304 took over MD 606 in 1951 to achieve its present western terminus. The state highway was extended east to Bridgetown in the mid 1960s, taking over part of MD 405
. Maintenance of the streets in Centreville was returned to the town in the 1960s.
to enter the town of Centreville, where the highway is municipally-maintained and passes through the Centreville Historic District
. The highway's name changes to Chesterfield Avenue and it passes through a residential area with scattered county offices. In the downtown area one block south of the Queen Anne's County Courthouse
, MD 304 meets MD 213, which follows a one-way pair
through the town, Liberty Street southbound and Commerce Street northbound. MD 304 continues east as Water Street, crossing the Centreville Branch of the Northern Line of the Maryland and Delaware Railroad
. At Tilghman Street, the highway's name changes to Railroad Avenue. MD 304 leaves Centreville just east of Kidwell Avenue.
MD 304 continues east through farmland as Ruthsburg Road, passing Queen Anne's County High School
and Centreville Middle School before reaching the intersection with US 301 (Blue Star Memorial Highway). The state highway intersects MD 481
(Damsontown Road) in the hamlet of Ruthsburg
. MD 304 heads northeast and crosses German Branch before intersecting MD 405 (Price Station Road). Shortly after the highway enters Caroline County by crossing Mason Branch, the highway, now named Bridgetown Road, reaches its eastern terminus at MD 312 (Oakland Road) in the village of Bridgetown. Bridgetown Road continues east as a county highway toward Goldsboro
.
Current MD 304 near Bridgetown was constructed as part of MD 405 and completed in 1942 to Bridgetown. In 1951, MD 304 was extended west over MD 606 to its present western terminus. MD 304 was extended east of MD 481 and assumed MD 405's route into Bridgetown to its present eastern terminus in 1964. Chesterfield Avenue was returned to the town of Centreville to maintain by 1961; Water Street and Railroad Avenue were transferred in 1968.
|-
!County
!Location
!Mile
!Intersection
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=6|Queen Anne's
|
|0.00
|Corsica Neck Road west / Spider Web Road south
|Western terminus
|-
|rowspan=2|Centreville
|3.21
|
|
|-
|3.28
|
|
|-
|
|5.79
|, Wilmington
|
|-
|Ruthsburg
|9.99
|
|
|-
|
|13.85
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|Caroline
|rowspan=2|Bridgetown
|rowspan=2|15.23
|
|rowspan=2|Eastern terminus
|-
|Bridgetown Road east – Goldsboro
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The state highway runs 15.23 miles (24.5 km) from Spider Web Road west of Centreville
Centreville, Maryland
Centreville is an incorporated town in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States. Incorporated in 1794, it is the county seat of Queen Anne's County. The population was 1,970 at the 2000 census. The ZIP code is 21617 and the area code is 410. The local telephone exchange is 758...
east to MD 312
Maryland Route 312
Maryland Route 312 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from MD 404 near Ridgely north to MD 313 in Baltimore Corner. MD 312 traverses northwestern Caroline County, connecting Ridgely with Bridgetown. The highway's first section was paved around Ridgely in...
in Bridgetown. MD 304 connects Centreville with U.S. Route 301
U.S. Route 301 in Maryland
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) and several small settlements in central Queen Anne's County
Queen Anne's County, Maryland
Queen Anne's County is a county located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland.As of 2010, the population was 47,798. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville is the county's most populous place...
and northern Caroline
Caroline County, Maryland
Caroline County is a wholly rural county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by Queen Anne's County to the north, Talbot County to the west, Dorchester County to the south, Kent County, Delaware, to the east, and Sussex County, Delaware, to the southeast. As...
, including Ruthsburg
Ruthsburg, Maryland
Ruthsburg is an unincorporated community in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States. Ruthsburg made national headlines in 2009, when the proposed creation of a U.S...
and Bridgetown. MD 304 originally consisted of its present streets in Centreville and a short piece of road to the east. The state highway was gradually extended eastward across central Queen Anne's County
Queen Anne's County, Maryland
Queen Anne's County is a county located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland.As of 2010, the population was 47,798. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville is the county's most populous place...
in the late 1930s and 1940s, reaching Ruthsburg in 1948. West of Centreville, MD 304 took over MD 606 in 1951 to achieve its present western terminus. The state highway was extended east to Bridgetown in the mid 1960s, taking over part of MD 405
Maryland Route 405
Maryland Route 405 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Price Station Road, the state highway runs from MD 304 near Bridgetown north to MD 19 near Church Hill. MD 405 connects Church Hill and Bridgetown with the central Queen Anne's County community of Price, where the...
. Maintenance of the streets in Centreville was returned to the town in the 1960s.
Route description
MD 304 begins at the intersection of Corsica Neck Road and Spider Web Road on the Corsica Neck peninsula west of Centreville. The state highway heads east as two-lane Corsica Neck Road through a mix of farmland and forest. MD 304 crosses Earl Creek then crosses the Corsica RiverCorsica River
The Corsica River is a tidal river in Queen Anne's County in the U.S. state of Maryland. The river begins near Centreville and empties into the Chester River.-Variant names:...
to enter the town of Centreville, where the highway is municipally-maintained and passes through the Centreville Historic District
Centreville Historic District (Centreville, Maryland)
Centreville Historic District is a national historic district at Centreville, Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States. It contains an exceptional collection of 18th, 19th, and 20th century buildings chronicling the architectural development of an Eastern Shore of Maryland community...
. The highway's name changes to Chesterfield Avenue and it passes through a residential area with scattered county offices. In the downtown area one block south of the Queen Anne's County Courthouse
Queen Anne's County Courthouse
The Queen Anne's County Courthouse is the oldest courthouse still in use in the state of Maryland. The building houses the judge for the Queen Anne's County Circuit Court, the judge's chambers, a courtroom, a jurors' assembly room, clerks offices and a small detention lock-up.- History :The...
, MD 304 meets MD 213, which follows a one-way pair
One-way pair
A one-way pair, one-way couple, or just couplet is a pair of parallel, usually one-way streets that carry opposite directions of a signed route or major traffic flow, or sometimes opposite directions of a bus or streetcar route....
through the town, Liberty Street southbound and Commerce Street northbound. MD 304 continues east as Water Street, crossing the Centreville Branch of the Northern Line of the Maryland and Delaware Railroad
Maryland and Delaware Railroad
The Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company is a Class III short-line railroad, formed in 1977 to operate several branch lines of the former Penn Central Railroad in both Maryland and Delaware. These branches were omitted from the system plan for Conrail in 1976 and would have been discontinued...
. At Tilghman Street, the highway's name changes to Railroad Avenue. MD 304 leaves Centreville just east of Kidwell Avenue.
MD 304 continues east through farmland as Ruthsburg Road, passing Queen Anne's County High School
Queen Anne's County High School
Queen Anne's County High School is a four-year public high school in Centreville, MD, Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States. It is one of 2 public high schools in Queen Anne's County along with Kent Island High School.-Overview:...
and Centreville Middle School before reaching the intersection with US 301 (Blue Star Memorial Highway). The state highway intersects MD 481
Maryland Route 481
Maryland Route 481 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Damsontown Road, the state highway runs from MD 309 near Queen Anne north to MD 304 in Ruthsburg...
(Damsontown Road) in the hamlet of Ruthsburg
Ruthsburg, Maryland
Ruthsburg is an unincorporated community in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States. Ruthsburg made national headlines in 2009, when the proposed creation of a U.S...
. MD 304 heads northeast and crosses German Branch before intersecting MD 405 (Price Station Road). Shortly after the highway enters Caroline County by crossing Mason Branch, the highway, now named Bridgetown Road, reaches its eastern terminus at MD 312 (Oakland Road) in the village of Bridgetown. Bridgetown Road continues east as a county highway toward Goldsboro
Goldsboro, Maryland
Goldsboro is a town in Caroline County, Maryland, United States. The population was 216 at the 2000 census. The zipcode is 21636. It is named after Thomas Alan Goldsborough...
.
History
The first section of present day MD 304 to be paved was the Bridgetown Road segment, which was built as a state aid road by 1915. Water Street, Railroad Avenue, and Ruthsburg Road east to Rolling Bridge Road were paved as a state aid road by 1921. Chesterfield Avenue was paved as a state road in 1924 and 1925. Corsica Neck Road and a new bridge across the Corsica River were completed in 1935, and designated MD 606. MD 304 was extended to a point just east of present day US 301 in 1938. The state highway was extended to Greenville Road in 1942 and to MD 481 in Ruthsburg in 1948.Current MD 304 near Bridgetown was constructed as part of MD 405 and completed in 1942 to Bridgetown. In 1951, MD 304 was extended west over MD 606 to its present western terminus. MD 304 was extended east of MD 481 and assumed MD 405's route into Bridgetown to its present eastern terminus in 1964. Chesterfield Avenue was returned to the town of Centreville to maintain by 1961; Water Street and Railroad Avenue were transferred in 1968.
Junction list
{|class=wikitable|-
!County
!Location
!Mile
!Intersection
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=6|Queen Anne's
Queen Anne's County, Maryland
Queen Anne's County is a county located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland.As of 2010, the population was 47,798. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville is the county's most populous place...
|
|0.00
|Corsica Neck Road west / Spider Web Road south
|Western terminus
|-
|rowspan=2|Centreville
Centreville, Maryland
Centreville is an incorporated town in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States. Incorporated in 1794, it is the county seat of Queen Anne's County. The population was 1,970 at the 2000 census. The ZIP code is 21617 and the area code is 410. The local telephone exchange is 758...
|3.21
|
|
|-
|3.28
|
|
|-
|
|5.79
|, Wilmington
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
|
|-
|Ruthsburg
Ruthsburg, Maryland
Ruthsburg is an unincorporated community in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States. Ruthsburg made national headlines in 2009, when the proposed creation of a U.S...
|9.99
|
|
|-
|
|13.85
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|Caroline
Caroline County, Maryland
Caroline County is a wholly rural county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by Queen Anne's County to the north, Talbot County to the west, Dorchester County to the south, Kent County, Delaware, to the east, and Sussex County, Delaware, to the southeast. As...
|rowspan=2|Bridgetown
|rowspan=2|15.23
|
|rowspan=2|Eastern terminus
|-
|Bridgetown Road east – Goldsboro
Goldsboro, Maryland
Goldsboro is a town in Caroline County, Maryland, United States. The population was 216 at the 2000 census. The zipcode is 21636. It is named after Thomas Alan Goldsborough...