MD 18 has been superseded by US 50/301. But make no mistake - this is not old US 50. It was the road to Kent Island from US 213 until the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was built, and then a new US 50 bypassed half of MD 18 and overrode the other half on its way to taking over much of 213. 50 is the new 18.

WB entering downtown Stevensville.


These signs may look ordinary, but that's precisely why they're extraordinary. There's one at either end of the road through "Island Professional Park" off of US 50/301 Exit 39A, which is the former alignment of MD 18. MD 18 once came through there, turned left on Castle Marina Rd., and right again onto Main St. Now a bypass has been built to keep 18 flowing in a straight line onto Main St., and these shields should have been removed at that time.


EB on that new Main St. and WB at the same spot, both signs in need of some black background removal. If the WB "To 50 West" had a left arrow, it could have just stayed without the curlicue roundabout patch, because both types of arrows are interchangeable per the MUTCD.


WB at and onto the Exit 41 onramp to US 50 WB/US 301 NB, illustrating the two problems that plague the freeway in this area. Either US 301 isn't signed at all, or it's lumped in as an east-west route. The blank green space on the first sign is just due to the shortness of the word "Easton," not a missing shield. Pine Narrows Rd. has a problem of its own, because there's no arrow telling you which way to go. It's to the right in the first photo, and just left the onramp connector before the second photo.


The same sort of thing happens EB at Exit 42. As a bonus, the "US 50" entrance sign is located a few dozen feet beyond the turn, making it easy to miss at night. US 301 has come this way for over 50 years, so don't blame age for making the signs wrong. Blame the local attitude that the freeway is just "Route 50."


Chester River Beach Rd. SB at Exit 43B, and a chance for a Maryland route numbering lesson. MD 18 has a bunch of fragmented alignments thanks to US 50/301 plowing through, which has also left several state-maintained frontage roads and connectors. Most of those fragments are numbered as pieces of MD 835, but a few of them are stray segments of MD 18. So, this is actually secret MD 18V, connecting a piece of MD 835 to the mainline 18.


A handful of WB historical signs, if you have very large hands. These are at Wrights Neck Rd. outside Centreville, west of Queenstown, and (Battle of Slippery Hill) at Bennett Point Rd.

Onto US 50/301
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