Maryland Route 222 (MD 222) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs from MD 7 in Perryville north to U.S. Route 1 (US 1) near Conowingo. MD 222 connects Perryville, Port Deposit, and Conowingo along its route paralleling the Susquehanna River in western Cecil County. Due to limitations in the highway in Port Deposit, including a steep hill and a low-clearance railroad bridge, trucks are directed to use MD 275, MD 276, and US 1 through Woodlawn and Rising Sun to connect Interstate 95 (I-95) with US 222 in Conowingo.
MD 222 was built as MD 268, a number presently assigned to North Street in Elkton. The state highway was paved from Perryville to Port Deposit in the late 1910s and early 1920s. MD 268 was extended north to Conowingo in the early 1930s. In 1938, MD 268 was superseded when US 222 was extended south from US 1 in Conowingo to US 40 in Perryville. US 222 was widened from Perryville to Port Deposit in the early 1940s and rebuilt around 1960. The highway was moved for the construction of I-95 interchange in the early 1960s and rebuilt south to Perryville in the late 1960s. MD 222 was established in 1972 on the portion of US 222 between MD 7 and US 40. The designation was extended from Perryville to Conowingo in 1995 when US 222 was rolled back to its former and present terminus at US 1 in Conowingo.
Route description
MD 222 begins at an intersection with MD 7 (Broad Street) in the town of Perryville. The highway heads north as two-lane undivided Aiken Avenue, which reaches its northern end at US 40 (Pulaski Highway) immediately to the east of the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge over the Susquehanna River. MD 222 continues northeast past US 40 as Perryville Road, which crosses over CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision railroad line. The highway curves north and leaves the town of Perryville, passing west of Perryville High School. MD 222 intersects the southern end of MD 824 (Reservoir Road) and the entrance to the former Perryville Outlet Center to the west before meeting I-95 (John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway) at a four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange. At the north end of the interchange, the highway briefly re-enters the town of Perryville and intersects the ramps to and from southbound I-95 and Chesapeake Overlook Parkway, which serves as the entrance road to Hollywood Casino Perryville and the Great Wolf Lodge resort to the west. Past here, the road passes west of a park and ride lot before it reaches a four-way intersection with the northern end of MD 824 (Blythedale Road) and the southern end of MD 275 (Perrylawn Drive). At this intersection, MD 222 turns west onto Bainbridge Road toward Port Deposit.
MD 222 heads west through farmland, crossing Happy Valley Branch before passing the entrance to the former United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge, which contains the Edward W. Haviland House and the original campus of the Tome School. The highway descends from a high bluff to the Susquehanna River, during which southbound MD 222 has a climbing lane. Upon entering the town limits of Port Deposit, MD 222's name changes to Main Street and the highway makes a sharp turn to the north to parallel the river and Norfolk Southern Railway's Port Road Branch, both of which are located southwest of the road. The state highway intersects MD 276 (Center Street) in the center of Port Deposit. MD 222 passes the Paw Paw Building and intersects Granite Avenue before crossing Rock Run and passing under a low-clearance railroad bridge to the west side of the tracks. The highway leaves the town of Port Deposit and continues north as Susquehanna River Road, closely paralleling the river and passing through a unit of Susquehanna State Park along the river. Soon after crossing Octoraro Creek, MD 222 reaches its northern terminus at an intersection with US 1 (Conowingo Road) at the eastern end of Conowingo Dam. Following US 1 northeast to the community of Conowingo leads to the southern terminus of US 222.
MD 222 is a part of the National Highway System as a principal arterial from US 40 north to MD 275 within Perryville.