U.S. Route 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching just over from West Sacramento, California, east to Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic Ocean. In the U.S. state of Maryland, US 50 exists in two sections. The longer of these serves as a major route connecting Washington, D.C., with Ocean City; the latter is the eastern terminus of the highway. The other section passes through the southern end of Garrett County for less than as part of the Northwestern Turnpike, entering West Virginia at both ends. One notable section of US 50 is the dual-span Chesapeake Bay Bridge across the Chesapeake Bay, which links the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area with the Eastern Shore region, allowing motorists to reach Ocean City and the Delaware Beaches.
US 50 has received numerous upgrades during its existence in Maryland, including the construction of the John Hanson Highway, a portion of which is also the unsigned Interstate 595 (I-595), its extension onto the Eastern Shore and replacement of US 213 due to the construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and the full conversion of the eastern segment of the route into a four-lane divided highway. Many of the older alignments of US 50 are still part of the Maryland and US highway systems, such as US 50 Business (US 50 Bus.) in Salisbury. US 50 continues to be upgraded on the Eastern Shore.
Route description
US 50 has two segments located in the state of Maryland totaling . The western segment is a two-lane undivided road through rural mountain areas in Garrett County, heading into West Virginia at both ends. The eastern segment runs between the Washington, D.C., border in Prince George's County and the eastern terminus of the route at MD 528 and MD 378 in Ocean City as a multilane divided highway with some freeway segments. Between Washington, D.C., and Annapolis, US 50 follows a freeway called the John Hanson Highway, which is designated as unsigned I-595 between the interchanges with I-95/I-495 (the Capital Beltway) in New Carrollton and MD 70 in Annapolis. In Bowie, US 301 becomes concurrent with US 50 and unsigned I-595. East of Annapolis, US 50/US 301 continue east along a freeway called the Blue Star Memorial Highway. The two routes pass over the Chesapeake Bay on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, linking the Western Shore and the Eastern Shore regions. After the bridge, US 50/US 301 head east across Kent Island before the freeway ends and the two routes split in Queenstown. From here, US 50 becomes an at-grade divided highway called Ocean Gateway and runs through rural areas of the Eastern Shore, heading south through Easton to Cambridge. The route turns southeast in Cambridge and continues through more rural land to Salisbury, which it bypasses to the north on a freeway called the Salisbury Bypass, a bypass road partly shared with US 13. Past Salisbury, US 50 becomes an at-grade divided highway again and continues east along the Ocean Gateway to Ocean City.
US 50 serves as the main route between the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area and the Eastern Shore, providing access to Ocean City and, by way of MD 404 and Delaware Route 404 (DE 404), the Delaware Beaches. As such, the route experiences heavy traffic in the summer months, with major congestion points including the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge over the Severn River in Annapolis, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge toll plaza, Easton, Cambridge, and the few miles leading into Ocean City. The peak travel periods in the summer are eastbound on Friday evenings, both directions on Saturday afternoons, and westbound on Sunday afternoons. The route is also a designated hurricane evacuation route out of Ocean City. US 50 in Maryland is a part of the main National Highway System between the Washington, D.C. border and the eastern terminus in Ocean City.
US 50/I-595 has a high-occupancy vehicle lane (HOV lane) for carpools with 2 or more persons in each direction from west of I-95/I-495 to east of US 301, a distance of . Unlike other HOV lanes in the Washington metropolitan area, which are only restricted during rush hours, the HOV lanes on US 50/I-595 are restricted at all times.