Maryland Route 249 (MD 249) is a
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
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 sover ...
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 ...
. Known as Piney Point Road, the state highway runs from
St. George Island north to
MD 5 in
Callaway. MD 249 is the primary access to St. George Island and the communities of
Piney Point,
Tall Timbers, and
Valley Lee on the Piney Point peninsula between the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
and St. George's Creek in southern
St. Mary's County St. Mary's County may refer to:
* St. Mary's County, Maryland
*St. Mary's County, Utah Territory
There are 29 counties in the U.S. state of Utah. There were originally seven counties established under the provisional State of Deseret in 1849: ...
. The state highway was constructed on the mainland in the early 1920s; the portion of the highway on St. George Island was completed in the early 1930s. MD 249 was reconstructed in the 1950s, including a new St. George Island Bridge.
Route description
MD 249 begins south of the state highway's intersection with Sheaffer Road on St. George Island. Piney Point Road continues as a county highway toward the southern end of the island. Just north of its terminus, MD 249 is a two-lane undivided road and begins to closely parallel a
riprap
Riprap (in North American English), also known as rip rap, rip-rap, shot rock, rock armour (in British English) or rubble, is human-placed rock or other material used to protect shoreline structures against scour and water, wave, or ice erosion. ...
along the Potomac River side of the island. The state highway passes along a narrow point of the island where St. George's Creek briefly parallels the northbound side of the highway. MD 249 temporarily leaves the immediate coastline before crossing over a strait between St. George's Creek and the Potomac River on the St. George Island Bridge.
Now on the mainland, MD 249 continues through the community of Piney Point, where the highway passes the entrance to the
Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education
The Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a merchant marine educational facility in Piney Point, Maryland, which is affiliated with the Seafarers International Union. Founded in 1967 in Brooklyn, New York as "The Seafarers' Harr ...
and Lighthouse Road. Lighthouse Road, which was formerly MD 498, leads to the
Piney Point Lighthouse and the wreckage of
German submarine U-1105 on the bottom of the Potomac River. MD 249 continues northwest, passing to the east of the former Piney Point Airport and the property of
NuStar Energy
NuStar Energy L.P. is a publicly traded master limited partnership. The company is one of the largest independent liquids terminal and pipeline operators in the nation. NuStar owns 8,700 miles of pipeline and 79 terminal and storage facilities tha ...
. The NuStar Energy property had previously been owned by Steuart Petroleum, which had taken over the land from the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
, which operated the Piney Point Torpedo Testing Station during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
The state highway curves to the northeast at the community of Tall Timbers, where the highway passes the old alignment now followed by Old Tall Timbers Road and Tall Timbers Road. MD 249 passes between the head of St. George's Creek and Tall Timbers Cove, then curves to the north through the community of Valley Lee. In Valley Lee, the state highway passes a former section of
MD 244, Drayden Road, and the extant part of MD 244, Blake Creek Road. MD 249 continues north through a mix of forest and farmland to its northern terminus at MD 5 (Point Lookout Road) in Callaway.
History
MD 249 was constructed as a gravel road from Callaway to Lighthouse Road in Piney Point around 1923.
The state highway was extended south to the narrow, wooden bridge to St. George Island in 1924.
By 1927, a short section of road was completed on the island.
MD 249 was extended south to its present terminus in two sections completed in 1930 and 1933.
A timber bulkhead was constructed along the portion of the state highway adjacent to the Potomac River in 1938 and 1939.
The St. George Island Bridge was raised on request of the U.S. Navy in 1942.
MD 249 was reconstructed and widened in the 1950s, starting with the highway from Callaway to Valley Lee being paved in bituminous stabilized gravel in 1950 and 1951.
The remainder of the state highway to St. George Island was paved and widened in 1958 and 1959.
That project included relocations at Tall Timbers and a new St. George Island Bridge, which was completed in 1957.
Junction list
See also
*
References
External links
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MDRoads: MD 249
249
Maryland Route 249