Maryland Route 291
Encyclopedia
Maryland Route 291 (MD 291) is a state highway
in the U.S. state
of Maryland
. The state highway runs 18.57 miles (29.9 km) from MD 20
in Chestertown
east to the Delaware
state line east of Millington
, where the highway continues east as Delaware Route 6 (DE 6). MD 291 parallels the Chester River
along the southern edge of Kent County
, connecting Chestertown with U.S. Route 301
(US 301). The state highway follows much of what was originally MD 447, which was constructed between US 213 in Chestertown and MD 290
at Chesterville
around 1930. MD 291 itself was built east of Millington around 1930. The state highway was extended west toward Chesterville in the early 1930s, but was not complete to MD 290 until the late 1940s. MD 291 was extended west to US 213 along a partially new alignment in the early 1960s, superseding MD 447. MD 291 reached its present western terminus at MD 20 in 1969.
, MD 291 passes along the northern edge of the campus of Washington College
before intersecting MD 213
(Washington Avenue). The state highway temporarily gains a median as it passes through a commercial area. After passing through a residential area, MD 291 leaves the town limits and passes through farmland. The state highway crosses Morgan Creek on a steel truss bridge
and passes through the hamlet of Morgnec, where Morgnec Road turns north and MD 291 continues east as River Road.
MD 291 intersects the eastern terminus of MD 298
(Cherry Lane) and crosses a branch of the Chester River before joining MD 290 (Crumpton Road) for a short concurrency
south of Chesterville. East of MD 290, MD 291 passes through a forested area and crosses Mill Branch before passing through two roundabout
s with Edge Road and Howard Johnson Road, which are unsigned MD 701A and MD 701, respectively. The two roads lead to interchange ramps to and from US 301 (Blue Star Memorial Highway), over which MD 291 crosses between the roundabouts. MD 291 continues east to the town of Millington, where the highway's name changes to Cypress Street. The state highway intersects MD 313
(Sassafras Street) and the Centreville Branch of the Northern Line of the Maryland and Delaware Railroad before leaving the town by crossing Cypress Branch. MD 291 continues east as Cypress Road through a mix of farmland and forest to its eastern terminus at the Delaware state line. The highway continues east as DE 6 (Millington Road) toward Smyrna
.
MD 447 was constructed from US 213 to just west of Morgnec as well as from Kennedyville Road to MD 290 in Chesterville in 1929 and 1930. MD 447 was completed between Morgnec and Kennedyville Road by 1933. The steel truss bridge over Morgan Creek, which replaced an old timber bridge on a more curvaceous alignment, was also completed in 1933. River Road between Morgnec and MD 290 was reconstructed beginning in 1958. MD 291 was extended west of MD 290 along River Road to Morgnec and assumed MD 447 west to Chestertown in 1963. MD 447 between Morgnec and Chesterville was removed from the state highway system the same year. MD 291 was extended west to its present terminus at MD 20 along a new road within Chestertown in 1969. MD 291's interchange with US 301, including MD 291's bridge over US 301 and the roundabouts with MD 701 and MD 701A, was constructed in 1999.
.
{|class=wikitable
!scope=col|Location
!scope=col|Mile
!scope=col|Destinations
!scope=col|Notes
|-
|rowspan=2|Chestertown
|0.00
|
|Western terminus
|-
|0.60
|
|
|-
|rowspan=3|Chesterville
|8.15
|
|
|-
|9.15
|
|West end of concurrency with MD 290
|-
|9.82
|
|East end of concurrency with MD 290
|-
|rowspan=3|Millington
|12.42
|Edge Road to
|Roundabout
; Edge Road is unsigned MD 701A
|-
|12.63
|Howard Johnson Road to – Wilmington
|Roundabout; Howard Johnson Road is unsigned MD 701
|-
|14.08
|
|
|-
|
|18.57
|
|Eastern terminus; Delaware
state line
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The state highway runs 18.57 miles (29.9 km) from MD 20
Maryland Route 20
Maryland Route 20 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from Beach Road and Lawton Avenue in Rock Hall east to MD 291 in Chestertown. MD 20, which connects Chestertown with several villages in western Kent County, was designated one of the original state roads...
in Chestertown
Chestertown, Maryland
Chestertown is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,746 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kent County. The ZIP code is 21620 and the area codes are 410 and 443...
east to the Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
state line east of Millington
Millington, Maryland
Millington is a town in Kent and Queen Anne's counties in the U.S. state of Maryland. The population was 416 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Millington is located at ....
, where the highway continues east as Delaware Route 6 (DE 6). MD 291 parallels the Chester River
Chester River
The Chester River is a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula. It is about long, and its watershed encompasses , which includes of land. Thus the total watershed area is 20% water. It forms the border between Kent County and Queen Anne's County, Maryland, with its...
along the southern edge of Kent County
Kent County, Maryland
Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, on its Eastern Shore. It was named for the county of Kent in England. Its county seat is Chestertown. In 2010, the county population was 20,197...
, connecting Chestertown with U.S. Route 301
U.S. Route 301 in Maryland
U.S. Route 301 in Maryland is a major highway that runs from Delaware to the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge into Virginia. It passes through three of Maryland's four main regions: the Eastern Shore, the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, and Southern Maryland...
(US 301). The state highway follows much of what was originally MD 447, which was constructed between US 213 in Chestertown and MD 290
Maryland Route 290
Maryland Route 290 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from MD 300 at Dudley Corners north to MD 299 in Sassafras. MD 290 roughly parallels U.S. Route 301 , which it intersects twice, as it connects the communities of Crumpton in northern Queen Anne's County...
at Chesterville
Chesterville, Maryland
Chesterville is an unincorporated community in Kent County, Maryland, United States.-References:...
around 1930. MD 291 itself was built east of Millington around 1930. The state highway was extended west toward Chesterville in the early 1930s, but was not complete to MD 290 until the late 1940s. MD 291 was extended west to US 213 along a partially new alignment in the early 1960s, superseding MD 447. MD 291 reached its present western terminus at MD 20 in 1969.
Route description
MD 291 begins at an intersection with the eastern terminus of MD 20 (Chestertown Road) and High Street in the town of Chestertown. The state highway heads east as two-lane Morgnec Road. After intersecting the Chestertown Branch of the Northern Line of the Maryland and Delaware RailroadMaryland and Delaware Railroad
The Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company is a Class III short-line railroad, formed in 1977 to operate several branch lines of the former Penn Central Railroad in both Maryland and Delaware. These branches were omitted from the system plan for Conrail in 1976 and would have been discontinued...
, MD 291 passes along the northern edge of the campus of Washington College
Washington College
Washington College is a private, independent liberal arts college located on a campus in Chestertown, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782...
before intersecting MD 213
Maryland Route 213
Maryland Route 213 is a state highway located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the United States. The route runs from Maryland Route 662 in Wye Mills, Queen Anne's County north to the Pennsylvania border in Cecil County, where it continues into that state as Pennsylvania Route 841...
(Washington Avenue). The state highway temporarily gains a median as it passes through a commercial area. After passing through a residential area, MD 291 leaves the town limits and passes through farmland. The state highway crosses Morgan Creek on a steel truss bridge
Truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges...
and passes through the hamlet of Morgnec, where Morgnec Road turns north and MD 291 continues east as River Road.
MD 291 intersects the eastern terminus of MD 298
Maryland Route 298
Maryland Route 298 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from MD 20 in Fairlee east to MD 291 near Chesterville. MD 298 is a C-shaped highway that connects Fairlee, MD 213, and Millington with several villages in central Kent County, including Worton, Lynch,...
(Cherry Lane) and crosses a branch of the Chester River before joining MD 290 (Crumpton Road) for a short concurrency
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...
south of Chesterville. East of MD 290, MD 291 passes through a forested area and crosses Mill Branch before passing through two roundabout
Roundabout
A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...
s with Edge Road and Howard Johnson Road, which are unsigned MD 701A and MD 701, respectively. The two roads lead to interchange ramps to and from US 301 (Blue Star Memorial Highway), over which MD 291 crosses between the roundabouts. MD 291 continues east to the town of Millington, where the highway's name changes to Cypress Street. The state highway intersects MD 313
Maryland Route 313
Maryland Route 313 is a state highway located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the United States. The route runs from U.S. Route 50 in Mardela Springs, Wicomico County north to Maryland Route 213 and Maryland Route 290 in Galena, Kent County...
(Sassafras Street) and the Centreville Branch of the Northern Line of the Maryland and Delaware Railroad before leaving the town by crossing Cypress Branch. MD 291 continues east as Cypress Road through a mix of farmland and forest to its eastern terminus at the Delaware state line. The highway continues east as DE 6 (Millington Road) toward Smyrna
Smyrna, Delaware
Smyrna is a town in Kent and New Castle counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
History
Much of what is now MD 291 was constructed as two different highways. MD 291 ran from MD 290 near Chesterville through Millington to the Delaware state line. MD 447 connected US 213 in Chestertown and MD 290 in Chesterville, much of which was on an alignment further north from the Chester River than modern MD 291. MD 291 was constructed from Millington to the Delaware state line in 1929 and 1930. The highway was extended west to Mills Branch just west of present day US 301 in two sections built in 1933 and 1935. The gap from Mills Branch to MD 290 was filled around 1946.MD 447 was constructed from US 213 to just west of Morgnec as well as from Kennedyville Road to MD 290 in Chesterville in 1929 and 1930. MD 447 was completed between Morgnec and Kennedyville Road by 1933. The steel truss bridge over Morgan Creek, which replaced an old timber bridge on a more curvaceous alignment, was also completed in 1933. River Road between Morgnec and MD 290 was reconstructed beginning in 1958. MD 291 was extended west of MD 290 along River Road to Morgnec and assumed MD 447 west to Chestertown in 1963. MD 447 between Morgnec and Chesterville was removed from the state highway system the same year. MD 291 was extended west to its present terminus at MD 20 along a new road within Chestertown in 1969. MD 291's interchange with US 301, including MD 291's bridge over US 301 and the roundabouts with MD 701 and MD 701A, was constructed in 1999.
Junction list
The entire route is in Kent CountyKent County, Maryland
Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, on its Eastern Shore. It was named for the county of Kent in England. Its county seat is Chestertown. In 2010, the county population was 20,197...
.
{|class=wikitable
!scope=col|Location
!scope=col|Mile
!scope=col|Destinations
!scope=col|Notes
|-
|rowspan=2|Chestertown
Chestertown, Maryland
Chestertown is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,746 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kent County. The ZIP code is 21620 and the area codes are 410 and 443...
|0.00
|
|Western terminus
|-
|0.60
|
|
|-
|rowspan=3|Chesterville
Chesterville, Maryland
Chesterville is an unincorporated community in Kent County, Maryland, United States.-References:...
|8.15
|
|
|-
|9.15
|
|West end of concurrency with MD 290
|-
|9.82
|
|East end of concurrency with MD 290
|-
|rowspan=3|Millington
Millington, Maryland
Millington is a town in Kent and Queen Anne's counties in the U.S. state of Maryland. The population was 416 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Millington is located at ....
|12.42
|Edge Road to
|Roundabout
Roundabout
A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...
; Edge Road is unsigned MD 701A
|-
|12.63
|Howard Johnson Road to – Wilmington
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
|Roundabout; Howard Johnson Road is unsigned MD 701
|-
|14.08
|
|
|-
|
|18.57
|
|Eastern terminus; Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
state line