Maryland Route 794

Maryland Route 794
Southern Maryland Boulevard
Route information
Maintained by MDSHA
Length:	2.75 mi[1] (4.43 km)
Existed:	1962 – present
Major junctions
South end:	MD 4 in Bristol
	MD 258 in Bristol MD 259 in Bristol
North end:	MD 408 at Waysons Corner
Location
Counties:	Anne Arundel
Highway system
Maryland highway system Interstate US State Scenic Byways ← MD 787 I-795 →

Maryland Route 794 (MD 794) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Southern Maryland Boulevard, the highway runs 2.75 miles (4.43 km) from MD 4 in Bristol north to MD 408 at Waysons Corner in southwestern Anne Arundel County. MD 794 is the old alignment of MD 4 between Bristol and Waysons Corner. Southern Maryland Boulevard was constructed in the late 1920s and was designated MD 416. MD 416 was expanded to a divided highway in the early 1960s, shortly before MD 416 became part of MD 4. Northbound MD 4 followed the original alignment of MD 416 until MD 4 was upgraded to a freeway in the early 1990s and MD 794 was extended along its current course.

Route description

MD 794 begins as an exit ramp from northbound MD 4 in Bristol. The road becomes two-way at its intersection with MD 258 (Bay Front Road). After passing an entrance ramp to northbound MD 4 and the southern terminus of MD 259 (Greenock Road), MD 794 heads in a straight line northwest. The road crosses Galloway Creek and receives a pair of exit ramps from MD 4 before reaching its northern terminus at MD 408 (Mount Zion–Marlboro Road) at Waysons Corner.^[1][2]

History

MD 794 was originally constructed as the northernmost part of the Southern Maryland Boulevard, a highway built on a completely new alignment to better connect Calvert County with Upper Marlboro and Washington. The new highway was constructed as an 18-foot (5.5 m) wide concrete road from MD 4 at Waysons Corner south to MD 2 at Sunderland in 1929 and 1930.^[3][4] Southern Maryland Boulevard was marked as MD 416 by 1933.^[5] In 1934, the Maryland State Roads Commission proposed MD 416 be widened to 20 feet (6.1 m).^[6] The highway was widened from 18 to 22 feet (5.5 to 6.7 m) from Waysons Corner south into Calvert County in 1948.^[7] MD 416 was widened to 33 feet (10 m) at its intersection with MD 4 in 1950.^[8]

MD 416 was expanded to a four-lane divided highway in Anne Arundel County in 1961 and 1962, including an interchange with MD 258.^[9][10] For the expansion project, a new roadway was constructed for southbound MD 416 and the existing roadway was turned into the highway's northbound lanes. The exception was at the MD 258 interchange, through which a new northbound roadway was constructed. The ramps between northbound MD 416 and MD 258, which were part of the original MD 416, became the southernmost portion of modern MD 794.^[11] MD 416 was renumbered MD 4 and MD 4 east of Waysons Corner became MD 408 in 1965.^[12] MD 4 was upgraded to a freeway through Waysons Corner and Bristol in 1991. A new roadway was constructed for northbound MD 4 between southbound MD 4 and the old northbound lanes; the old northbound lanes became a northern extension of MD 794 to its present terminus.^[13]

Junction list

The entire route is in Anne Arundel County.

Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Bristol	0.00	0.00	MD 4 north	Southern terminus; exit ramp from northbound MD 4
	0.34	0.55	MD 258 (Bay Front Road) to MD 4 south – Deale, Prince Frederick
	0.43	0.69	MD 4 north – Upper Marlboro	Entrance ramp onto northbound MD 4
	0.50	0.80	MD 259 north (Greenock Road) – Lothian, Annapolis
Waysons Corner	2.75	4.43	MD 408 (Mount Zion–Marlboro Road) to MD 4 – Lothian, Upper Marlboro	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• Maryland Roads portal

References

1. Highway Information Services Division (December 31, 2013). Highway Location Reference. Maryland State Highway Administration. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
   • Anne Arundel County (PDF)
2. Google (2010-08-03). "Maryland Route 794" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
3. Uhl, G. Clinton; Bruce, Howard; Shaw, John K. (October 1, 1930). Report of the State Roads Commission of Maryland (1927–1930 ed.). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission. pp. 78, 82. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
4. Maryland Geological Survey (1930). Map of Maryland Showing State Road System: State Aid Roads and Improved County Road Connections (Map). Baltimore: Maryland Geological Survey.
5. Maryland Geological Survey (1933). Map of Maryland Showing State Road System: State Aid Roads and Improved County Road Connections (Map). Baltimore: Maryland Geological Survey.
6. 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 2013-01-25.
7. Reindollar, Robert M.; George, Joseph M.; McCain, Russell H. (February 15, 1949). Report of the State Roads Commission of Maryland (1947–1948 ed.). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission. p. 19. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
8. Reindollar, Robert M.; George, Joseph M.; McCain, Russell H. (December 20, 1950). Report of the State Roads Commission of Maryland (1949–1950 ed.). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission. p. 36. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
9. Maryland State Roads Commission (1962). Maryland: Official Highway Map (Map). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission.
10. Federal Highway Administration (2012). "NBI Structure Number: 100000020078010". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration.
11. Bristol, MD quadrangle (Map) (1972 ed.). 1:24,000. 15 Minute Series (Topographic). United States Geological Survey.
12. Maryland State Roads Commission (1965). Maryland: Official Highway Map (Map). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission.
13. Maryland State Highway Administration (1991). Maryland: Official Highway Map (Map). Baltimore: Maryland State Highway Administration.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• MDRoads: MD 794