Maryland Route 277 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Maryland Route 277 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by MDSHA | ||||
| Length | 2.51 mi[1] (4.04 km) | |||
| Existed | 1927–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end | Elk Mills Road in Elk Mills | |||
 MD 316 near Elk Mills | ||||
| East end |  MD 279 near Elkton | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Maryland | |||
| Counties | Cecil | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Maryland Route 277 (MD 277) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs 2.51 miles (4.04 km) from Elk Mills east to MD 279 near Elkton in northeastern Cecil County. MD 277 was constructed west of MD 316 in the early 1920s. The highway was planned to be extended in both directions in the late 1940s. However, neither extension occurred until MD 277 was extended east to MD 279 in the mid-1980s.
Route description[edit]
MD 277 begins at an arbitrary point on Elk Mills Road in the community of Elk Mills about 0.05 miles (0.080 km) west of the entrance to Elk Mills Community Park located north of the road. Elk Mills Road continues west as a county highway toward MD 213. MD 277 heads east as a two-lane undivided road through residential areas of the community and has a grade crossing of CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision railroad line. The highway crosses over Big Elk Creek and passes along the northern edge of the Elk Mills Quarry before intersecting Appleton Road, which heads south as MD 316 and north as a county highway. MD 277 continues east as Fletchwood Road through suburban areas and woods, passing to the north of warehouses. The route briefly parallels the West Branch Christina River as the river passes through Fletchwood Community Park located north of the road. The highway reaches its eastern terminus at MD 279 (Elkton Road) northeast of the town of Elkton and just west of the Delaware state line.[1][2]
History[edit]
Elk Mills Road was constructed as a 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) concrete road from Appleton Road (then named Barksdale Road) to the current western terminus in 1921.[3][4] By 1934, MD 277 was proposed to be widened from 15 to 20 feet (4.6 to 6.1 m).[5] In 1945, Cecil County requested the highway be extended west to MD 280 (now MD 213) and east to MD 279 in the first year of a three-year post–World War II construction program.[6] The extensions of MD 277 were planned to be placed under contract in 1947.[7] However, the highway from MD 316 to MD 279 was later proposed to be paved by the state but remain a county highway, and the highway west to MD 280 disappeared from improvement plans.[8] MD 277's old bridge across Big Elk Creek was replaced with a steel beam bridge in 1968, and the highway was paved with bituminous concrete in 1973.[9] Almost 40 years after it was proposed, MD 277 was extended east to MD 279 when Fletchwood Road was transferred from county maintenance in a May 16, 1984, road transfer agreement.[10] The Fletchwood Road portion of the highway was reconstructed between 1990 and 1992.[11]
Junction list[edit]
The entire route is in Cecil County.
| Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Mills | 0.00 | 0.00 | Elk Mills Road west | Western terminus | |
| 1.19 | 1.92 |  MD 316 south (Appleton Road) / Appleton Road north – Elkton | Northern terminus of MD 316 | ||
| | 2.51 | 4.04 | MD 279 (Elkton Road) – Elkton, Newark, DE | Eastern terminus | |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Highway Information Services Division (December 31, 2014). Highway Location Reference. Maryland State Highway Administration. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
- Cecil County (PDF).
- ^ Maryland State Highway Administration (2015). Maryland General Highway Statewide Grid Map (PDF) (Map). 1:12,000. Baltimore: Maryland State Highway Administration. §§ A16C. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
- ^ Mackall, John N.; Crothers, Omar D.; Winebrener, D.C. (January 1924). Annual Reports of the State Roads Commission of Maryland (1920–1923 ed.). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission. pp. 43, 75. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
- ^ Maryland Geological Survey (1921). Map of Maryland: Showing State Road System and State Aid Roads (PDF) (Map). Baltimore: Maryland Geological Survey.
- ^ Byron, William D.; Lacy, Robert (December 28, 1934). Report of the State Roads Commission of Maryland (1931–1934 ed.). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission. p. 22. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
- ^ "Excerpt of Meeting Minutes of State Roads Commission" (PDF). S.R.C. Minutes District No. 2 Cecil County. Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission. January 31, 1945. Retrieved July 18, 2016 – via Maryland State Archives.
- ^ Reindollar, Robert M.; Webb, P. Watson; McCain, Russell H. (February 1, 1947). Report of the State Roads Commission of Maryland (1945–1946 ed.). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission. p. 89. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
- ^ "Excerpt from Minutes of Meeting of the State Roads Commission" (PDF). S.R.C. Minutes District No. 2 Cecil County. Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission. March 16, 1950. Retrieved July 18, 2016 – via Maryland State Archives.
- ^ Maryland Road Construction Progress Log (PDF). Baltimore: Maryland State Highway Administration. Contract Numbers: CE-477-2-278/76 (March 11, 1969), CE-536-277 (April 27, 1973). Retrieved July 18, 2016 – via Maryland State Archives.
- ^ "Memoramdum of Action of Acting Director Neil Pedersen" (PDF). S.R.C. Minutes District No. 2 Cecil County. Baltimore: Maryland State Highway Administration. June 11, 1984. Retrieved July 18, 2016 – via Maryland State Archives.
- ^ Maryland Road Construction Progress Log (PDF). Baltimore: Maryland State Highway Administration. Contract Number: CE-690-501-277 (February 23, 1990). Retrieved July 18, 2016 – via Maryland State Archives.