The Kent Narrows, also known as Kent Island Narrows and to local residents simply as the Narrows, is a waterway that connects the

Chester River The Chester River is a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula. It is about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 and its waters ...

with the

Eastern Bay The Eastern Bay is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay located between Queen Anne's County, Maryland and Talbot County, Maryland on the Eastern Shore. Its main tributaries include the Miles River and the Wye River. It is located south of the Che ...

and also separates

Kent Island Kent Island is the largest island in the Chesapeake Bay and a historic place in Maryland. To the east, a narrow channel known as the Kent Narrows barely separates the island from the Delmarva Peninsula, and on the other side, the island is sep ...

from the

Delmarva Peninsula The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Eastern Shore of Virginia. The peninsula is l ...

. It runs through the community of

Kent Narrows, Maryland Kent Narrows is a census-designated place and town in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census,https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Kent%20Narrows%20CDP,%20Maryland, 2020 decennial Cen ...

. The Kent Narrows was originally shallow and surrounded by

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

. A causeway was built across it in 1826, but was removed in 1876 when the channel was

dredged Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing dams ...

. Today the Kent Narrows continues to be dredged regularly. The area has traditionally been a location for

seafood Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...

packing and restaurants.

Bridges

Several bridges, both part of roads and the Queen Anne's Railroad, have crossed the Kent Narrows in the past. Currently, two road bridges cross the Kent Narrows. *The R. Clayton Mitchell Jr. Bridge, formerly known as the Kent Narrows Bridge, is part of

US 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 Atlantic ...

/ US 301 and was built during the early 1990s as part of upgrades to US 50/US 301 on the

Eastern Shore of Maryland The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that Ma ...

. *The Waterman's Memorial Bridge, a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

formerly known as the Old Kent Narrows Bridge, is part of

Maryland Route 18 Maryland Route 18 (MD 18) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from the beginning of state maintenance at Love Point, Maryland, Love Point east to Maryland Route 213, MD 213 in Centrevi ...

as well as the

American Discovery Trail The American Discovery Trail is a system of recreational trails and roads that collectively form a coast-to-coast hiking and biking trail across the mid-tier of the United States. Horses can also be ridden on most of this trail. The coastal tr ...

and serves local traffic, both automobiles and pedestrians. It once carried US 50 as the main bridge across the Kent Narrows until the newer bridge was built.

Gallery

Image:Kent Narrows NOAA.PNG, Aerial view of the Kent Narrows File:Kent Narrows seen from the edge of the water.jpg, Kent Narrows as seen from Kent Island File:Kent Narrows bridges MD1.jpg, The R. Clayton Mitchell Jr. Bridge (rear) and the Waterman's Memorial Bridge (front) at Kent Narrows

References

External links

Live Video
from Maryland'
CHART - Coordinated Highways Action Response Team
- web site. Chesapeake Bay watershed Bodies of water of Queen Anne's County, Maryland Kent Island, Maryland U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 301 Channels of the United States Bodies of water of Maryland {{QueenAnnesCountyMD-geo-stub