US 301 is a
Blue Star Memorial Highway for its entire length in Maryland. The Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland declared the U.S. Highway a Blue Star Memorial Highway as a tribute to the
United States Armed Forces in 1948, and a 1953 resolution signed by Governor
William Preston Lane, Jr., officially dedicated US 301 as such. The highway's primary name from the Potomac River to Bowie is
Robert Crain Highway.
Robert Crain was a Charles County farmer and lawyer who spearheaded the construction of a new highway to directly connect Baltimore and Southern Maryland that was completed in 1927. Along its concurrency with US 50 and unsigned I-595 from Bowie to the Severn River, US 301 follows John Hanson Highway. The freeway is named for
John Hanson, the first
President of the Continental Congress in 1781. Short portions of US 301 are included among several
Maryland Scenic Byways. US 301 is part of the
Religious Freedom Byway, from
Maryland Route 257 (MD 257) to
MD 234 near Newburg and from Popes Creek Road at
Faulkner to Chapel Point Road at
Bel Alton in southern Charles County. That byway is also a
National Scenic Byway, the Religious Freedom Byway. US 301 is included in the
Booth's Escape Scenic Byway from the Potomac River to Edge Hill Road in Newburg, from Popes Creek Road at Faulkner to Bel Alton Newtown Road at Bel Alton, and along its concurrency with MD 5 from Waldorf to
Brandywine. The U.S. Highway is part of the
Star-Spangled Banner Scenic Byway from
MD 382 at
Marlton to
MD 725 in
Upper Marlboro. US 301 is almost entirely maintained by the
Maryland State Highway Administration. The exceptions include the Governor Harry W. Nice Bridge across the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge across the Chesapeake Bay and the respective bridges' approach roads and toll plazas, which are maintained by the
Maryland Transportation Authority. US 301 is a part of the
National Highway System for its entire length.
Newburg to Bowie US 301 enters Maryland at the Virginia state line on the right bank of the Potomac River near
Dahlgren in
King George County, Virginia, from which the U.S. Highway continues toward
Bowling Green and
Richmond. The highway crosses the Potomac River on the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge, a four-lane
divided bridge. US 301 becomes a four-lane divided highway named
Robert Crain Highway just east of the southbound-only
all-electronic toll gantry for the bridge and to the north of the
Morgantown Generating Station. The highway parallels
CSX's
Popes Creek Subdivision rail line on a sweeping curve from east to north through the community of Newburg. US 301 passes a
welcome center and has a
directional crossover intersection with
MD 257 (Rock Point Road). The highway curves northwest at its directional crossover intersection with
MD 234 (Budds Creek Road) at the hamlet of Glasva, then curves north again between
Faulkner and
Bel Alton, from which Chapel Point Road leads west to
Chapel Point State Park. US 301 passes through the hamlet of Spring Hill shortly before it enters the town of La Plata, the
county seat of Charles County. The highway passes to the west of the center of town and intersects
MD 6, which heads east as Charles Street and west as Port Tobacco Road, and
MD 225 (Hawthorne Road). US 301 leaves La Plata at Rosewick Road and gradually curves northeast toward
White Plains. There, the highway meets the eastern end of
MD 227 (Marshall Corner Road), passes near the eastern end of the
Indian Head Rail Trail, and intersects Billingsley Road, which leads to the southern end of
MD 925 (Old Washington Road). US 301 expands to six lanes near Smallwood Drive, where it passes south of a
park and ride lot serving
MTA Maryland commuter buses. The highway runs through the planned community of
St. Charles, which contains the
St. Charles Towne Center shopping mall. The highway continues through the unincorporated town of Waldorf, where the highway meets the eastern end of
MD 228 (Berry Road) and the northern end of
MD 5 Business (Leonardtown Road). At the north end of Waldorf, US 301 has a partial intersection with MD 5 (Mattawoman Beantown Road); access from northbound MD 5 to southbound US 301 is via Mattawoman Drive. The two highways curve north and cross
Mattawoman Creek into Prince George's County. The highway temporarily gains extra lanes while passing through the area north of the county line, during which the highways cross Timothy Branch. US 301 and MD 5 diverge at a partial interchange in Brandywine, from which MD 5 continues north along Branch Avenue toward Washington and US 301 drops to four lanes. US 301 curves northeast and intersects Brandywine Road, which heads east through the center of Brandywine as
MD 381. Brandywine Road to the west provides access from southbound US 301 to northbound MD 5 and from southbound MD 5 to northbound US 301. US 301 heads through the communities of
Cheltenham and
Rosaryville, where the highway passes along the east side of
Rosaryville State Park. The highway continues through
Marlton, where it crosses Charles Branch and meets the northern end of
MD 382 (Croom Road). Old Crain Highway splits north from US 301 as the highway approaches Upper Marlboro, the county seat of Prince George's County. The U.S. Highway curves north and crosses CSX's Popes Creek Subdivision rail line at-grade and heads across the Western Branch of the
Patuxent River south of its
cloverleaf interchange with MD 4 (Stephanie Roper Highway). US 301 meets the eastern end of
MD 725 (Marlboro Pike) east of Upper Marlboro. The highway continues north, passing a pair of
weigh stations, and gains a wide median at the southern edge of the city of Bowie. There, the U.S. Highway intersects Old Central Avenue, which is part of
MD 978, and has a six-ramp interchange with
MD 214 (Central Avenue). The movements from northbound US 301 to eastbound MD 214 and from eastbound MD 214 to southbound US 301 are made via Old Central Avenue (unsigned
MD 978B). US 301 follows the eastern city limit of Bowie and expands to six lanes south of its intersection with
MD 197 (Collington Road). Past this junction, the road intersects Ball Park Road, which leads east to
Prince George's Stadium, the home ballpark of the
Bowie Baysox baseball team. The U.S. Highway briefly fully enters the city of Bowie just south of its cloverleaf interchange with US 50 (John Hanson Highway) and MD 3, which heads north along Robert Crain Highway while US 301 heads east concurrent with US 50 and unsigned I-595.
Bowie to Queenstown US 301 and US 50 head east along John Hanson Highway, a six-lane freeway, across the Patuxent River into Anne Arundel County. The highways have junctions with
MD 424 north of
Davidsonville and the southern end of
I-97 in
Parole. US 301 and US 50 pass to the north of Annapolis, which is accessed by interchanges with
MD 665,
MD 450,
MD 2, and
MD 70. The I-595 designation ends at the MD 70 interchange. MD 2 joins the U.S. Highways along the freeway to cross the
Severn River. MD 2 splits north from the U.S. Highways at a common interchange with the eastern end of MD 450, where the freeway's name changes to Blue Star Memorial Highway. US 301 and US 50 meet
MD 179 near
Cape St. Claire and pass by
Sandy Point State Park right before the highways use the dual-span
Chesapeake Bay Bridge to cross the Chesapeake Bay. US 301 and US 50 meet
MD 8 on
Kent Island in Queen Anne's County. The six-lane freeway parallels
MD 18 and has numerous
right-in/right-out interchange with local roads as it passes through
Stevensville and
Chester. US 301 and US 50 parallel MD 18 across the
Kent Narrows onto the mainland of the Delmarva Peninsula, then the freeway continues through more right-in/right-out interchanges in
Grasonville before the U.S. Highways diverge at Queenstown.
Queenstown to Warwick US 301 reduces to a four-lane non-freeway divided highway with a speed limit of at its partial interchange with US 50 (Ocean Gateway). The highway passes along the edge of the town of Queenstown, where the highway meets MD 18 (Main Street) and
MD 456 (Del Rhodes Avenue) at a pair of
superstreet intersections. Access from southbound US 301 to eastbound US 50 and from westbound US 50 to northbound US 301 is via MD 18 at the Queenstown Premium Outlets. US 301 gradually curves northeast as it passes to the south and east of
Centreville, the county seat of Queen Anne's County. The highway has a five-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange with
MD 213 (Centreville Road) south of town and a
double-roundabout partial cloverleaf interchange with
MD 304 (Ruthsburg Road) north of Mill Stream Branch. US 301 has an oblique at-grade crossing of the Centerville Branch of the Northern Line of the
Maryland and Delaware Railroad. The highway parallels the railroad through an intersection with
MD 305 (Hope Road) at Carville and unsigned
MD 834 (Hayden Clark Road), where the median temporarily widens for the Bay Country Welcome Center. US 301 diverges from the railroad at its intersection with
MD 405 (Price Station Road) at
Price. The U.S. highway continues north through junctions with
MD 19 (Roberts Station Road) and the western end of
MD 302 (Barclay Road) and a superstreet intersection with
MD 300 (Sudlersville Road). US 301 has a four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange with
MD 290 (Dudley Corner Road) just south of Red Lion Branch. The U.S. Highway has a superstreet intersection with
MD 544 (McGinnes Road) just west of that highway's eastern end at
MD 313 and just south of Unicorn Branch. US 301 crosses the
Chester River into Kent County west of
Millington. The highway continues through an indirect interchange with
MD 291 (River Road); access to MD 291 is via side ramps with two unsigned portions of
MD 701, which parallels the northbound and southbound sides of US 301 as Howard Johnson Road and Edge Road, respectively. US 301 has an at-grade railroad crossing with the Chestertown Branch of the Northern Line of the Maryland and Delaware Railroad west of the junction of the two Northern Line branches at
Massey. North of the railroad, the U.S. highway has a superstreet intersection with MD 313 (Galena Road) south of
Galena. US 301 has a diamond interchange with MD 290 (Galena Sassafras Road) before crossing the
Sassafras River into Cecil County west of
Sassafras. The highway meets the northern end of
MD 299 (Massey Sassafras Road), where there is a weigh station in the southbound direction, and passes to the south of Warwick. US 301 reaches the Maryland–Delaware state line, where it continues northeast into
New Castle County along an all-electronic toll freeway. ==History==