Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) 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 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 for most of its length as Coastal Highway, the state highway runs from the southern terminus of its companion route,
unsigned
Unsigned can refer to:
* An unsigned artist is a musical artist or group not attached or signed to a record label
** Unsigned Music Awards, ceremony noting achievements of unsigned artists
** Unsigned band web, online community
* Similarly, the c ...
Maryland Route 378 (MD 378), in downtown
Ocean City north to the
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
state line at the northern edge of the resort town, where the highway continues as
Delaware Route 1
Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) is the longest numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Delaware. The route runs from the Maryland state line in Fenwick Island, Sussex County, where the road continues south into that state as Maryland R ...
(DE 1). MD 528 and MD 378 are the primary north–south streets of Ocean City, where they provide access to countless hotels, condos, restaurants, shops, and other businesses catering to tourists. These highways experience heavy seasonal traffic and provide access to
hurricane evacuation route
Hurricane evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hurricane. County judges, emergency managers and other officials may recommend a voluntary evacuation or order a mandatory evacuatio ...
s, which include
U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...
(US 50),
MD 90, and
DE 54. Both Baltimore Avenue and Philadelphia Avenue date back to the founding of Ocean City in the late 19th century. MD 378 was assigned to Baltimore Avenue in 1927 and MD 528 was assigned to Philadelphia Avenue in 1933. MD 528 was extended north of 15th Street to the Delaware state line in 1939. Both highways were rebuilt and widened in the 1950s. MD 528 was expanded to a six-lane
divided highway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
north of the
one-way pair
A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities.
Descriptio ...
in the late 1980s.
Route description
MD 528 and MD 378 both have their southern termini at the intersection of Baltimore Avenue and South 1st Street at the southern end of Ocean City north of the
Ocean City Inlet
Sinepuxent Bay is an inland waterway which connects Chincoteague Bay to Isle of Wight Bay, and is connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Ocean City Inlet. It separates Sinepuxent Neck, in Worcester County, Maryland from Assateague Island, and Wes ...
. Baltimore Avenue continues south and then turns east as South 2nd Street toward the Hugh T. Cropper Inlet Parking Lot that serves attractions on the
Ocean City Boardwalk along the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
, including the
Trimper's Rides
Trimper Rides Of Ocean City is a historic amusement park located near the inlet at South First Street and the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, United States. It was founded in 1893 as The Windsor Resort. It is located at the south end of the bo ...
amusement park and the
Ocean City Life-Saving Station. From the southern terminus, MD 528 heads west on South 1st Street and then north as Philadelphia Avenue, while MD 378 heads north as Baltimore Avenue. The two state highways form a one-way pair, with MD 378 carrying three lanes of northbound traffic and MD 528 carrying three lanes of southbound traffic. Both streets intersect South Division Street, which was the site of the railroad terminus in Ocean City and is currently the site of Sunset Park and the South Division Street Transit Center, and Worcester Street, which was the site of the first automobile bridge to the resort in 1916.
MD 528 and MD 378 head north through the downtown area of Ocean City, where they meet the eastern terminus of US 50 at North Division Street. North Division Street between MD 528 and MD 378 is one-way eastbound, so traffic coming from the south uses North 1st Street, which is one-way westbound and designated MD 378A, to access US 50 west. MD 528 and MD 378 continue north to 9th Street, which is one-way westbound and designated MD 378B. MD 528 becomes two-way at 9th Street. MD 378 continues north as a two-lane street northbound to 15th Street, where the state highway turns west to reach its northern terminus at MD 528. Baltimore Avenue continues north of 15th Street as a two-way municipal street to its northern end at 33rd Street.
![Ocean_City_MD_-_street_scenery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Ocean_City_MD_-_street_scenery.jpg)
MD 528 continues north from 9th Street as a divided highway with two lanes northbound and three lanes southbound. The state highway gains a third lane northbound at MD 378 (15th Street). At 17th Street, MD 528 assumes its form for the remainder of its course to the Delaware state line: three lanes in each direction plus a continuous
combined right turn, bus, and bicycle lane in both directions.
The road heads into the Midtown section of Ocean City, which is home to numerous restaurants and nightlife, at 28th Street.
[ After passing east of the ]Jolly Roger Amusement Park
Jolly Roger Amusement Park is an amusement park located in Ocean City, Maryland. The park features two locations in Ocean City: one at the pier on the Ocean City boardwalk and one further uptown at 30th Street. Both locations feature numerous thri ...
at 30th Street, MD 528 meets 33rd Street, which is one-way westbound coming from the northern end of Baltimore Avenue. North of 33rd Street, MD 528 becomes Coastal Highway, the only through highway on the barrier island
Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of Dune, dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything fro ...
that is lined with numerous hotels and businesses. The state highway passes east of the Roland E. Powell Convention Center
The Roland E. Powell Convention Center, also known as the Ocean City Convention Center, is a multi-purpose convention center in Ocean City, Maryland, United States, USA. It contains of floor space. It can also be converted into a 5,000 seat ind ...
at 40th Street and intersects the eastern terminus of MD 90 (Ocean City Expressway) at 62nd Street. MD 528 continues through commercial areas and heads into North Ocean City at 91st Street, where it passes numerous condos along with the Gold Coast Mall at 112th Street.[ Farther north, the route runs past more businesses and hotels, heading east of the 144th Street Transit Center before it reaches the Delaware state line at 146th Street, two blocks east of the ]Fenwick Island Light
Fenwick Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Delaware, United States, on the Delaware/Maryland state line. The structure dates back to 1858 making it the oldest lighthouse in the state of Delaware.
History
In 1856, the United States Congress a ...
. Coastal Highway continues into Fenwick Island as DE 1, which meets the eastern terminus of DE 54 one block north of the state line. Throughout Ocean City, MD 528 serves as the divider between the Bayside area to the west and the Oceanside area to the east.
As the main north-south road in Ocean City, MD 528 experiences heavy traffic in the summer months as the resort town sees a large number of visitors and seasonal residents. The route also provides access to hurricane evacuation route
Hurricane evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hurricane. County judges, emergency managers and other officials may recommend a voluntary evacuation or order a mandatory evacuatio ...
s leading out of Ocean City, including US 50, MD 90, and DE 54. MD 528 is a part of the main National Highway System from US 50 to the Delaware state line.
History
Baltimore Avenue and Philadelphia Avenue date back to the founding of Ocean City in 1875. Both avenues originally extended from South Division Street to North Division Street. The streets were later extended north as far as 15th Street. Baltimore Avenue served as the main thoroughfare of Ocean City until Philadelphia Avenue and Coastal Highway assumed predominance in the 1950s. MD 378 was assigned to Baltimore Avenue, which was paved from US 213 (Worcester Street) to 15th Street by 1927. MD 528 was assigned to Philadelphia Avenue when that street was rebuilt between US 213 and 15th Street in 1933. MD 528 was extended north to the Delaware state line when Coastal Highway was completed in 1939.
In the 1940s, traffic in Ocean City increased so much there was a movement to make Baltimore and Philadelphia Avenues one-way in the downtown area, a change that was implemented by 1948. Traffic volume in Ocean City increased even more following the completion of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge (also known locally as the Bay Bridge) is a major twin bridges, dual-span bridge in the U.S. state of Maryland. Spanning the Chesapeake Bay, it connects the state's rural Eastern Shore of Maryland, Eastern Shore regio ...
in 1952, leading to expansion of the city's north–south arterials. MD 378 was widened along its entire length in 1951 and 1952. MD 528 was widened to four lanes along its entire length in 1953 and 1954. Both state highways were extended to their present southern termini at that time. The first portion of MD 528 to be expanded to a divided highway was around the intersection with MD 90; the highway between 60th and 63rd Streets was reconstructed by 1978. Two sections of six-lane divided highway were completed around 1989: from 25th Street to 65th Street, and from 85th Street to 122nd Street. By 1991, MD 528 was divided highway from 25th Street to the Delaware state line. The segment of Philadelphia Avenue from 9th Street to 25th Street was changed from a five- to six-lane highway with a center turn lane to a divided highway in 2001.
A pedestrian safety project aimed to reduce jaywalking
Jaywalking is the act of pedestrians walking in or crossing a roadway that has traffic, other than at a designated crossing point, or otherwise, in disregard of traffic rules. The term originated in the United States as a derivation of the phras ...
will install a dune-style fence in the median of MD 528, with the first phase to take place between 41st Street/Convention Center Drive and MD 90. Construction on the first phase was expected to begin in January 2017 and be finished by Memorial Day of that year,[ but was delayed after the only bid came in over the $4.5 million budget.][ Construction on the first phase began on November 7, 2017 and was completed in May 2018. The second phase will build the fence between 26th Street and 41st Street/Convention Center Drive while the third phase will construct the fence between 9th Street and 26th Street. In the future, the fence will be built between MD 90 and the Delaware border.][
]
Junction list
Related routes
Maryland Route 378 is a unsigned highway in Ocean City that follows portions of Baltimore Avenue and 15th Street from the southern terminus of MD 528 at the southern end of Ocean City north to MD 528 north of the downtown area of Ocean City. Because MD 378 essentially functions as the northbound direction of MD 528 in downtown Ocean City, the state highway is covered in more detail in the main sections of this article. MD 378 has two auxiliary routes:
*MD 378A is the designation for 1st Street, a connector between MD 378 and MD 528 just north of US 50 in Ocean City. The state highway is one-way westbound, helping provide access to US 50 from traffic at the southern end of the barrier island.
*MD 378B is the designation for 9th Street, a connector between MD 378 and MD 528 on the northern edge of downtown Ocean City. MD 378B, which is one-way westbound, serves as the main conduit for MD 378 traffic headed for the central and northern parts of Ocean City along MD 528, connecting with MD 528 at the point the highway becomes two-way. For that reason, MD 378B is part of the National Highway System.
MD 378 from US 50 to MD 378B and all of MD 378B are part of the main National Highway System.
Junction list
See also
*
References
External links
{{commons category, Maryland Route 378
MDRoads: MD 528
MD 528 at AARoads.com
528
Year 528 ( DXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sabbatius without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1281 ''Ab u ...
Maryland Route 528
Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Coastal Highway, the state highway runs from the southern terminus of its companion route, unsigned highway, unsigned Maryland Route 3 ...
Ocean City, Maryland