Route 54 (Maryland–Delaware)
Route information | ||||||||||
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Maintained by MDSHA and DelDOT | ||||||||||
Length | 41.84 mi[1][2] (67.33 km)
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Existed | 1969 Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway | |||||||||
Major junctions | ||||||||||
West end | MD 313 in Mardela Springs, MD | |||||||||
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East end | DE 1 in Fenwick Island, DE | |||||||||
Location | ||||||||||
Country | United States | |||||||||
State | Maryland | |||||||||
Counties | MD: Wicomico DE: Sussex | |||||||||
Highway system | ||||||||||
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Maryland Route 54 (MD 54) and Delaware Route 54 (DE 54) are adjoining state highways in the U.S. states of Maryland and Delaware. Route 54 runs 41.84 mi (67.33 km) from MD 313 in Mardela Springs, Maryland, east to DE 1 in Fenwick Island, Delaware. In addition to two segments in which the highway is completely in Delaware and two segments in which the highway is completely in Maryland, Route 54 follows the Delaware/Maryland state line between the twin towns of Delmar, Maryland, and Delmar, Delaware, and the highway's intersection with MD 353 and DE 26. One section of the state line portion of Route 54 is maintained by the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) while three sections of the highway that follow the state line are maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA).
Route 54 was first numbered in two segments in
Route description
Route 54 begins at an intersection with
Route 54 continues east from US 13 as East Line Road through farmland and scattered residences along the state line.[1][5] At Brittingham Road, maintenance jurisdiction returns to MDSHA.[1] Around the intersection with Whitesville Road, Route 54 dips into Maryland for a short distance, then returns to following the state line until the intersection with MD 353 (Gumboro Road) and DE 26 (Millsboro Highway).[1][2][5] At that intersection, Route 54 turns northeast and joins DE 26 in a concurrency.[2] From this point, the highway remains in Delaware.[5] A short distance north of the state line, the road intersects Whitesville Road. In Gumboro, DE 26 continues north while Route 54 turns east onto Cypress Road.[2] Route 54 crosses Bald Cypress Branch and the Pocomoke River, then passes through the Great Cypress Swamp. After crossing the swamp, the highway intersects US 113 (Dupont Boulevard) on the west edge of the town of Selbyville.[5]
Route 54 continues east into Selbyville as Cemetery Road and crosses the Snow Hill Line of the
The section of Route 54 east of US 113 in Selbyville serves as a main route to Fenwick Island and sees congestion in the summer months.
History
Location | West of Delmar–Fenwick Island |
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Existed | 1968[8]–1969[3] |
Location | Delmar |
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Existed | 1939[9]–1969[4] |
Location | Mardela Springs |
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Existed | 1939[9]–1969[4] |
By 1920, what is now Route 54 in Delaware existed as an unpaved county road.[10] The portion of the current route along Millsboro Highway was proposed as a state highway by 1925.[11] This segment of state highway was completed by 1931, along with the portions from south of Columbia to a point along the state line to the east of Delmar and between Selbyville and Williamsville.[12] A portion of the route along the state line east of Delmar was paved as a county road.[12][13] On July 1, 1935, the county-maintained portions of the road in Delaware were taken over by the state.[14] By 1936, the roadway was paved between Williamsville and Fenwick Island.[15] A portion of road to the west of Selbyville was paved by 1939.[16] By 1942, the remainder of the road in Delaware between the Maryland border and south of Columbia and Gumboro and Selbyville were paved.[17]
The first non-concurrent portions of Route 54 to be numbered were in Maryland in 1939, when MD 467 was marked on the portion around Mardela Springs and MD 455 was marked on the portion around Delmar, which extended from where Waller Road fully enters Maryland east to Brittingham Road. The portion of road between Brittingham Road and MD 353 was county-maintained.[9] MD 455 was extended east from Brittingham Road to DE 26/MD 353 in 1958.[18] In 1968, DE 32 was assigned to the entire highway within Delaware; the Maryland sections were still marked as MD 467 and MD 455.[8][19] The whole highway was marked as Route 54 in 1969.[3][4] In addition to the concurrency with DE 26, Route 54 has been concurrent with DE 20 and DE 30. DE 20 was extended east of Dagsboro to terminate in Fenwick Island along with Route 54 by 1994.[20] DE 20's eastern terminus was rolled back to its present location in 2005.[21][22] Despite this, some DE 20 shields are posted along Route 54 between that route's eastern terminus and Fenwick Island.[5] DE 30 was designated concurrent with Route 54 along Millsboro Highway north of Whitesville Road in 1994.[20] The DE 30 designation was removed from this section of road in 2022.[23]
In September 2001, construction began to build an elevated causeway for Route 54 to the west of Fenwick Island in order to prevent flooding from high tides and storms. The project involved building the new causeway to the north of the original alignment, using
Major intersections
DE 54 officially has a length of 38.59 mi (62.10 km) and MD 54 officially has a length of 19.79 mi (31.85 km). Both of these figures include a 16.54 mi (26.62 km) overlap between the first and last crossings of the state line.
State | County | Location | mi[1][2] | km | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maryland | Wicomico | Mardela Springs | 0.00 | 0.00 | MD 313 (Delmar Road/Sharptown Road) to US 50 (Ocean Gateway) – Sharptown, Federalsburg | Western terminus of MD 54; MD 313 continues west on Delmar Road to US 50 |
Maryland–Delaware state line | 3.25 | 5.23 | Western terminus of DE 54 | |||
Delaware | Sussex | Packing House Corner | 4.47 | 7.19 | Columbia Road north | |
Maryland– Delaware | Wicomico– Sussex | Delmar, MD – Delmar, DE | 9.51 | 15.30 | Waller Road west – Hebron | Route 54 begins to follow state line; begin MDSHA maintenance |
9.97 | 16.05 | MD 675 south (Bi-State Boulevard) / Bi-State Boulevard north | Old alignment of US 13; northern terminus of MD 675 | |||
10.84 | 17.45 | US 13 (Sussex Highway/Ocean Highway) – Laurel, Salisbury | End MDSHA maintenance; begin DelDOT maintenance | |||
| 15.01 | 24.16 | Brittingham Road north | End DelDOT maintenance; begin MDSHA maintenance | ||
Maryland–Delaware state line | 17.97 | 28.92 | Route 54 fully enters Maryland | |||
Maryland | Wicomico | | 18.43 | 29.66 | Whitesville Road north | |
Maryland–Delaware state line | 18.87 | 30.37 | Route 54 begins to follow state line | |||
Maryland– Delaware | Wicomico– Sussex | | 19.79 | 31.85 | DE 26 begins (Millsboro Highway) MD 353 south (Gumboro Road) / Bethel Road east | Route 54 turns north onto Millsboro Highway to fully enter Delaware; eastern terminus of MD 54; western terminus of DE 26; northern terminus of MD 353; west end of concurrency with DE 26 |
Delaware | Sussex | Gumboro | 22.16 | 35.66 | DE 26 east (Millsboro Highway) | Route 54 turns east onto Cypress Road; east end of concurrency with DE 26 |
31.06 | 49.99 | Main Street north – Frankford | Route 54 turns south onto Main Street | |||
31.42 | 50.57 | Church Street | Church Street west is old alignment of DE 17 | |||
31.60 | 50.86 | DE 17 north (Bethany Road) – Roxana | Southern terminus of DE 17 | |||
31.70 | 51.02 | Hotel Road south | Route 54 turns east onto Lighthouse Road | |||
DE 54 Alt. east (Johnson Road) | Western terminus of DE 54 Alt. | |||||
| 37.88 | 60.96 | DE 20 west (Zion Church Road) | Eastern terminus of DE 20 | ||
Fenwick Island | 41.84 | 67.33 | DE 1 (Coastal Highway) | Eastern terminus of DE 54 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Delaware Route 54 Alternate
Location | Bunting–Bethany Beach |
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Length | 8.99 mi[2] (14.47 km) |
Existed | 2006[22]–present |
Delaware Route 54 Alternate (DE 54 Alt.) is an unsigned alternate route of DE 54 between Bunting and DE 26 in the town of Bethany Beach. The alternate route heads northeast from DE 54 on two-lane undivided Johnson Road, passing through a mix of farmland and woodland and crossing Dirickson Creek. Upon crossing DE 20, DE 54 Alt. continues north along Bayard Road through more rural areas, crossing Bearhole Ditch and passing through the community of Bayard. The route turns east onto Double Bridges Road and continues northeast through forested areas along with a few residential subdivisions, passing north of the Assawoman Wildlife Area. DE 54 Alt. turns east onto Kent Avenue and crosses the Assawoman Canal, where it curves north and passes residential development before ending at DE 26 at Bethany Beach.[26] DE 54 Alt. was designated by 2006.[22]
Major intersections
The entire route is in Sussex County.
Location | mi[2] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bunting | 0.00 | 0.00 | DE 54 (Lighthouse Road) | Western terminus | |
| 1.35 | 2.17 | DE 20 (Zion Church Road) | ||
Bethany Beach | 8.99 | 14.47 | DE 26 (Garfield Parkway) | Eastern terminus | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
See also
- U.S. Roads portal
- Maryland Roads portal
Notes
- ^ Both state figures include a 16.54 mi (26.62 km) overlap between the first and last crossings of the state line.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Highway Information Services Division (December 31, 2016). Highway Location Reference. Maryland State Highway Administration. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
- Wicomico County (PDF).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Staff (2018). "Traffic Count and Mileage Report: Interstate, Delaware, and US Routes" (PDF). Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ a b c Delaware State Highway Department (1969). Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Maryland State Roads Commission (1969). Maryland: Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Google (April 21, 2010). "Delaware-Maryland Route 54" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
- ^ "Delmarva Questions and Answers". The Washington Post. May 19, 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
- ^ Delmarva Peninsula Evacuation Route Map (PDF) (Map). Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
- ^ a b Delaware State Highway Department (1968). Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ a b c Maryland State Roads Commission (1939). General Highway Map: State of Maryland (PDF) (Map). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission.
- ^ Delaware State Highway Department (1920). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ Delaware State Highway Department (1925). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ a b Delaware State Highway Department (1931). Official Road Map of the State of Delaware (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ Delaware State Highway Department (1932). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ "Annual Report of the State Highway Department of the State of Delaware" (PDF) (1935 ed.). Dover, DE: Delaware State Highway Department. January 7, 1936: 7. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
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(help) - ^ Delaware State Highway Department; The National Survey Co. (1936). Official Road Map of the State of Delaware (PDF) (Map) (1936–1937 ed.). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ Delaware State Highway Department (1939). Official Road Map of the State of Delaware (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ Delaware State Highway Department (1942). Official Road Map of the State of Delaware (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ Maryland State Roads Commission (1958). Maryland: Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission.
- ^ Maryland State Roads Commission (1968). Maryland: Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission.
- ^ a b Delaware Department of Transportation Division of Planning Cartographic Information Section (1994). Delaware Official State Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ "Public Workshop - SR 54/SR 20 Route Numbering Study". Delaware Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
- ^ a b c Delaware Department of Transportation (2006). Delaware Official Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ "SR 30 Declassification: Delmar/Laurel to Millsboro". Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
- ^ "SR-54 Improvements - Project Overview". Delaware Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on April 3, 2005. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ^ "SR 54 Mainline Improvements". Delaware Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on April 11, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ^ Google (December 19, 2013). "overview of Delaware Route 54 Alternate" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 19, 2013.