Maryland Route 410 (MD 410) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland and known for most of its length as East–West Highway. The highway runs east to west (hence its name) for from MD 355 in Bethesda east to Pennsy Drive in Landover Hills. MD 410 serves as a major east–west commuter route through the inner northern suburbs of Washington, D.C., connecting the commercial districts of Bethesda, Silver Spring, and Hyattsville. In addition, the highway serves the industrial area of Landover Hills and the residential suburbs of Chevy Chase, Takoma Park, Chillum, Riverdale, and East Riverdale. The road also connects many of the arterial highways and freeways that head out of Washington. Additionally, it provides a highway connection to transit and commercial hubs centered around Washington Metro subway stations in Bethesda, Takoma Park, Hyattsville, Silver Spring, and New Carrollton–the latter two of which provide additional connections to MARC and Amtrak trains.
MD 410 was originally built along a mostly new alignment between Bethesda and Silver Spring in the late 1920s. The Montgomery County portion has not changed much in the ensuing decades. In the mid-1930s, the highway was extended east to Hyattsville in Prince George's County, where it has been realigned and extended multiple times. These changes included: an extension along existing roads further into Hyattsville in the mid-1940s; a realignment within Hyattsville in the mid-1950s; an extension through Riverdale in the late 1960s; and the final extension to New Carrollton and Landover Hills in the early 1990s.
Route description
MD 410 is maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA) except for three municipally maintained segments in the city of Takoma Park and a short stretch maintained by Prince George's County in East Riverdale.
The segments maintained by the city of Takoma Park run from Chestnut Avenue to near Cedar Avenue for ; from Maple Avenue to MD 195 for ; and from the second junction with MD 195 to Elm Avenue, the longest non-state maintained portion with a length of .
In Prince George's County, in East Riverdale, MD 410 is county maintained for , from the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to its turn from Riverdale Road onto Veterans Parkway. Here, in its final 2.6 miles, MD 410 becomes a part of the National Highway System, serving as a principal arterial for US 50. Past Route 50, MD 410 reaches its eastern terminus at Pennsy Drive.
Montgomery County
MD 410 begins at a pair of junctions with MD 355 (Wisconsin Avenue) and MD 187 (Old Georgetown Road) on either side of Bethesda station on the Washington Metro's Red Line in downtown Bethesda. Westbound MD 410 ends at the intersection of two-way MD 355 and the southern terminus of MD 187, which begins one-way northbound along Old Georgetown Road. Traffic from the southbound direction of MD 187 follows Woodmont Avenue and Montgomery Lane to the start of eastbound MD 410 at the intersection of MD 355 and Montgomery Avenue.
MD 410 heads east as a one-way pair—East–West Highway westbound and Montgomery Avenue eastbound—to the eastern edge of downtown Bethesda, where the two directions converge east of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. From that intersection, traffic can use a U-turn lane from Montgomery Avenue to enter westbound East–West Highway back towards MD 355 or use a merge lane to enter MD 410 heading east. From there, the highway continues east as a four-lane, undivided East–West Highway.
MD 410 crosses over the Capital Crescent Trail. It then follows the northern edge of the town of Chevy Chase; crosses Coquellin Run; and runs along the southern edge of the Columbia Country Club to its intersection with MD 185 (Connecticut Avenue).
MD 410 then leaves Chevy Chase and passes through an unincorporated area of Chevy Chase, within which the highway meets the northern end of MD 186 (Brookville Road). It descends into the valley of Rock Creek, where it intersects with Jones Mill Road and Beach Drive–the main road through Rock Creek Park). MD 410 then crosses over Rock Creek, passes to the north of Meadowbrook Park, and leaves the valley as a four-lane divided highway with a narrow median and flanking service roads.
MD 410 reaches the top of a hill at Grubb Road and descends into the valley of a branch of Rock Creek. The highway becomes undivided at Sundale Drive and crosses the branch stream just west of the northern corner of the District of Columbia and its attendant boundary marker. It then leaves the stream valley and ascends to an intersection with MD 390 (16th Street) at the western edge of downtown Silver Spring.