Maryland Route 231 (MD 231) is a
state highway in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. The state highway runs from Olivers Shop Road near
Hughesville east to
MD 765 in
Prince Frederick. MD 231 crosses the
Patuxent River
The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington, D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast ...
on the Benedict Bridge, which connects
Benedict
Benedict may refer to:
People Names
*Benedict (given name), including a list of people with the given name
*Benedict (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Religious figures
* Pope Benedict I (died 579), head of the Catholic Chu ...
in eastern
Charles County
Charles County is a county in Southern Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. Charles County is part of the Wash ...
with Hallowing Point in central
Calvert County
Calvert County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 92,783. Its county seat is Prince Frederick. The county's name is derived from the family name of the Barons of Baltimore, the proprietors of t ...
. The highway directly connects
MD 5 in Hughesville with
MD 2/
MD 4 in Prince Frederick. MD 231 was constructed from Hughesville to Benedict and from Hollowing Point to Prince Frederick in the early 1920s. The portion of the state highway west of Hughesville was built in the early 1930s, about the same time ferry service began between Benedict and Hallowing Point. The Benedict Bridge was started in 1950 and was completed in 1952; the bridge remained the southernmost crossing of the Patuxent River for 25 years. The bridge was tolled from its opening until around 1955. MD 231 was reconstructed between Hughesville and Prince Frederick in the mid- to late 1950s to better serve intercounty traffic.
Route description
MD 231 begins at an intersection with Olivers Shop Road in the hamlet of Burnt Store in eastern Charles County. Olivers Shop Road connects
Dentsville to the south with
Bryantown to the north. MD 231 heads east as two-lane undivided Burnt Store Road, crossing Gilbert Creek on its way to Hughesville. Within Hughesville, the state highway intersects
MD 5 Business (Old Leonardtown Road), where the highway's name changes to Prince Frederick Road. East of the village center, MD 231 meets MD 5 (Leonardtown Road) at a
dumbbell interchange
A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road.
Design
The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the i ...
. In the hamlet of
Patuxent, the state highway intersects the southern terminus of
MD 381 (Brandywine Road), which heads north into the southeastern corner of
Prince George's County
)
, demonym = Prince Georgian
, ZIP codes = 20607–20774
, area codes = 240, 301
, founded date = April 23
, founded year = 1696
, named for = Prince George of Denmark
, leader_title = Executive
, leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrook ...
.
From Patuxent, MD 231 heads southeast through the neck of far eastern Charles County that reaches to the Patuxent River between Prince George's County and
St. Mary's County. Before reaching the river, the state highway passes to the north of the village of
Benedict
Benedict may refer to:
People Names
*Benedict (given name), including a list of people with the given name
*Benedict (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Religious figures
* Pope Benedict I (died 579), head of the Catholic Chu ...
, which was the site of the landing of
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
troops to march toward
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, prior to the
Battle of Bladensburg
The Battle of Bladensburg was a battle of the Chesapeake campaign of the War of 1812, fought on 24 August 1814 at Bladensburg, Maryland, northeast of Washington, D.C.
Called "the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms," a British for ...
during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...
.
The state highway crosses the Patuxent River on the Benedict Bridge, a long steel beam bridge whose roadway is wide.
At the Patuxent River's navigation channel, the bridge features a through steel
girder
A girder () is a support beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a stabilizing ...
swing span that has vertical clearance when closed and provides two openings with horizontal clearance when opened.
MD 231 enters Calvert County at Hallowing Point and continues east as Hallowing Point Road, passing an industrial park and Hallowing Point Park. After intersecting the northern terminus of
MD 508 (Adelina Road), the state highway veers northeast through the village of
Barstow, where the highway passes west of a
park and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system ( ...
lot and the Calvert County Fairgrounds before it intersects Barstow Road, which serves the historic homes
Cedar Hill and
Willow Glenn
Willow Glenn is a historic home located at Barstow, Calvert County, Maryland, United States. It is an impressive, Georgian structure of grand proportions; constructed entirely of brick in Flemish bond with random glazed headers. The home typif ...
. MD 231 passes the Prince Frederick campus of the
College of Southern Maryland
The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) is a public community college with campuses in Hughesville, La Plata, Leonardtown, and Prince Frederick, Maryland. It serves students living in Southern Maryland's Charles, St. Mary's, and Calvert count ...
before entering Prince Frederick. The state highway meets MD 2/MD 4, which
run concurrently as Solomons Island Road, on the west side of the county seat. MD 231 continues northeast as Church Street, passing the historic home
Linden, home of the Calvert County Historical Society. The state highway reaches its eastern terminus at MD 765 (Main Street), a short distance north of the county courthouse.
MD 231 is a part of the main
National Highway System from MD 5 in Hughesville to MD 2/MD 4 in Prince Frederick.
History
The Prince Frederick Road portion of MD 231, originally named Benedict Road, was constructed as a gravel road by 1921.
The Hallowing Point Road section was built in gravel around 1923.
Burnt Store Road was constructed of gravel starting in 1930 and was completed by 1933.
At MD 231's western terminus, Olivers Shop Road was originally MD 232, which ran from
MD 234 at
Wicomico north to what was then MD 233 (Woodville Road) north of Bryantown.
MD 232 was removed from the state highway system around 1989, leaving MD 231's western terminus at a county highway.
Ferry service began between Benedict and Hallowing Point began around 1933.
On the west side of the Patuxent River, MD 231 originally turned south into the village of Benedict, following Benedict Avenue to the ferry terminal where the avenue starting following the riverbank. The Hallowing Point terminal remains today as a boat ramp immediately south of the bridge.
State senator Louis L. Goldstein
Louis Lazerus Goldstein (March 14, 1913 – July 3, 1998) served as comptroller, or chief financial officer, of Maryland for ten terms from 1959 to 1998. A popular politician and lifelong Democrat, he was first elected to the Maryland House ...
of Calvert County sponsored a bill to construct a bridge between Benedict and Hallowing Point. In order to get enough votes to pass, the bridge bill stipulated the bridge would have a 25-cent toll.
Work on the Benedict Bridge began in May 1950.
The toll plaza and administration building were completed on the Calvert County side of the bridge in autumn 1951. The bridge itself and wide gravel approach roads on both sides of the river were completed and opened in spring 1952.
The toll was removed from the bridge in 1955 due to very low traffic; a daily average of 237 vehicles used the bridge in its first year.
By comparison, the bridge had an
average annual daily traffic
Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a ...
figure of 12,312 vehicles in 2013.
The completion of the Benedict Bridge greatly improved the connection between Calvert County and both Charles and St. Mary's counties. Prior to 1952, the southernmost bridge on the Patuxent River had been Hills Bridge, by which MD 4 crosses the river at
Upper Marlboro.
By 1953, MD 231 between MD 5 in Hughesville and MD 2 in Prince Frederick was marked as a "main highway" on the state highway map.
Reconstruction of MD 231 between MD 5 and MD 2 began in 1954. In both counties, the road was resurfaced in two stages: a first stage of bituminous stabilized gravel and a second stage of bituminous concrete.
The reconstruction of MD 231 was completed from Prince Frederick to Hallowing Point in 1956 and from Hughesville to Benedict by 1958.
The Benedict Bridge remained the southernmost crossing of the Patuxent River until the opening of the
Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge between
Solomons at the bottom of Calvert County and
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
in St. Mary's County in 1978.
The "functionally obsolete" bridge underwent major repairs in 2002, during which the bridge was reduced to one lane of traffic in alternating directions.
Junction list
See also
*
References
External links
{{commons category
MDRoads: MD 231MD 231 at AARoads.com
231
Maryland Route 231
Maryland Route 231 (MD 231) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from Olivers Shop Road near Hughesville east to MD 765 in Prince Frederick. MD 231 crosses the Patuxent River on ...
Maryland Route 231
Maryland Route 231 (MD 231) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from Olivers Shop Road near Hughesville east to MD 765 in Prince Frederick. MD 231 crosses the Patuxent River on ...