Maryland Route 254 (MD 254) 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 Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...
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 so ...
of
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
. Known as Cobb Island Road, the state highway runs from
Cobb Island north to
MD 257 near
Rock Point. MD 254 connects the mainland to Cobb Island, which was originally established as a summer resort in the early 1920s, at the southern end of
Charles County
Charles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. The ...
. The state highway was constructed as Maryland Route 533 in the early 1930s. The state highway was rebuilt and renumbered as MD 254 in the 1950s.
Route description
MD 254 begins south of the intersection of Cobb Island Road and Neale Sound Drive on Cobb Island. Cobb Island Road continues south as a county-maintained two-lane
divided
Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic. The other operations are addition, subtraction, and multiplication. What is being divided is called the ''dividend'', which is divided by the ''divisor'', and the result is called the ...
avenue to Potomac River Drive on the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
side of the island. North of Neale Sound Drive, MD 254 is a two-lane undivided road and leaves the island by crossing over Neale Sound on the Cobb Island Bridge. The state highway passes between marinas and curves northwest to parallel the coast. At Pine Grove Road, MD 254 veers north to its terminus at Rock Point Road. Rock Point Road heads southeast as a county highway toward Rock Point and northwest as MD 257 up Cobb Neck to
U.S. Route 301
U.S. Route 301 (US 301) is a spur of U.S. Route 1 running through the South Atlantic states. It runs from Biddles Corner, Delaware, at Delaware Route 1 to Sarasota, Florida, at U.S. Route 41. It passes through the states of Delaware, ...
in
Newburg.
History
The original bridge from the mainland to Cobb Island, a "noisy one-way wooden bridge that was prone to summer traffic jams," was constructed in 1923 shortly after the establishment of the island as a summer resort by
Robert Crain.
In 1932, the
Maryland State Roads Commission
The Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA, MDOT SHA, or simply SHA) is the state mode responsible for maintaining Maryland's numbered highways outside Baltimore. Formed originally under authority of the General Assembly of Maryland in ...
rebuilt Cobb Island Road as a modern gravel road and replaced the "hazardous" 1923 bridge with a
creosote
Creosote is a category of carbonaceous chemicals formed by the distillation of various tars and pyrolysis of plant-derived material, such as wood, or fossil fuel. They are typically used as preservatives or antiseptics.
Some creosote types w ...
d timber bridge.
This bridge was still one-lane, being wide, but had a passing area near the middle.
Cobb Island Road was originally designated MD 533.
MD 533 was widened to and resurfaced with bituminous stabilized gravel in 1951.
MD 533 was renumbered MD 254 in 1958.
MD 254 had originally been assigned to Davidsonville Road between
Davidsonville
Davidsonville is an unincorporated community in central Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It is a semi-rural community composed mostly of farms and suburban-like developments and is a good example of an "exurb." Davidsonville has rel ...
and
Edgewater in central
Anne Arundel County
Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, wh ...
; that highway was renumbered as an eastward extension of
MD 214 (Central Avenue) by 1939.
A two-lane steel girder Cobb Island Bridge was built in 1963.
In 2015, plans were made to construct a new Cobb Island Bridge to replace the existing structure that was structurally deficient. The new Cobb Island Bridge, which includes wider travel lanes, a sidewalk, and lighting, cost $18 million to build and opened to traffic on April 28, 2020.
Junction list
See also
*
References
External links
{{Attached KML, display=title,inline
MD 254 @ MDRoads.com
254
Year 254 ( CCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerianus and Gallienus (or, less frequently, year 1007 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 254 for th ...
Maryland Route 254
Maryland Route 254 (MD 254) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Cobb Island Road, the state highway runs from Cobb Island, Maryland, Cobb Island north to Maryland Route 257, MD 257 near Rock Point, Maryland, Rock Point ...