Maryland Route 5 (MD 5) is a long state highway that runs north–south in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs from Point Lookout in St. Mary's County north to the Washington, D.C. border in Suitland, Prince George's County. MD 5 begins as two-lane undivided Point Lookout Road which runs from Point Lookout to an intersection with MD 235 in the northern part of St. Mary's County. Point Lookout Road passes through rural areas as well as the county seat of Leonardtown. After the MD 235 intersection, the route becomes four-lane divided Three Notch Road and continues into Charles County, where it becomes Leonardtown Road. Here, the route bypasses Hughesville and continues north toward the Waldorf area, which it bypasses to the east on Mattawoman Beantown Road. The route merges onto U.S. Route 301 (US 301, Crain Highway) and enters Prince George's County, splitting from US 301 at an interchange in Brandywine. From here, MD 5 continues north on Branch Avenue, running through suburban areas, before becoming a freeway as it passes Andrews Air Force Base and has an interchange with Interstate 95 (I-95)/I-495 (Capital Beltway). Past the Capital Beltway, the route runs through suburban areas of Hillcrest Heights and Suitland before reaching the Washington, D.C. border, where Branch Avenue SE continues, crossing Pennsylvania Avenue SE and eventually terminating at Randle Circle.
MD 5 was designated in 1927 to run from Point Lookout to the Washington, D.C. border in Suitland. The route was realigned to follow Naylor Road to the Washington, D.C. line in 1939, while MD 637 was designated along the portion of Branch Avenue leading to the border. Between 1939 and 1949, the route continued into Washington, D.C. as District of Columbia Route 5 (DC 5), which followed Naylor Road SE, Good Hope Road SE, 11th Street SE, and DC 4 (Pennsylvania Avenue) to US 1 and US 240 near the White House. MD 5 was realigned to head to the Washington, D.C. border along Branch Avenue in 1950. During the course of the 1950s and 1960s, most of MD 5 between the MD 235 intersection and the Washington, D.C. border was widened into a divided highway. In 1993, the route bypassed Leonardtown; the original alignment was designated MD 5 Business (MD 5 Bus.) before it was decommissioned in 2012. In 1997, MD 5 was realigned to bypass Waldorf to the east along what had been designated as MD 205 in 1989. The former alignment through Waldorf followed what is now MD 5 Bus. and US 301. In Prince George's County, multiple interchanges were built along MD 5 between MD 223 and the Capital Beltway in the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2007, a four-lane, divided bypass of Hughesville was completed, alleviating the traffic bottleneck within that town at the intersection of MD 231. The former alignment through Hughesville became MD 5 Bus. The portion of MD 5 between US 301 and the Capital Beltway is slated to be upgraded to a full freeway, with an interchange at MD 373 (Accokeek Road)/Brandywine Road completed and the remainder of the freeway upgrade still in the planning stages.
Route description
St. Mary's County
thumb|left|Southern terminus of MD 5 at Point Lookout State Park
MD 5 begins within Point Lookout State Park in St. Mary's County by heading west on Point Lookout Road, a two-lane undivided road which continues south from the route’s southern terminus along the shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay to the confluence with the Potomac River. The route turns north, passing a fee booth for the park at the entrance before continuing into wooded areas. A short distance later, the road makes a left turn and heads northwest through a mix of woodland and farmland. MD 5 passes through Scotland and continues north through more agricultural areas with intermittent residences. MD 5 turns northwest, heading through woodland and reaching Morganza, where the route intersects MD 242 (Colton Point Road). By 1915, the entire length of the state highway between north of Point Lookout and the Washington, D.C. border was completed. This state highway was paved to the northwest of Leonardtown, between north of Morganza and Hughesville, between the Charles-Prince George's county border and north of TB, and from south of Camp Springs to the Washington, D.C. border while the remainder was an unpaved state road.
MD 5 was designated in 1927 to the state highway between north of Point Lookout and the Washington, D.C. border, passing through Leonardtown, Hughesville, and Waldorf. MD 5 ran concurrent with MD 3 (now US 301) between Waldorf and TB. In 1928, the route was paved between north of TB and Camp Springs. By 1933, MD 5 was paved between northwest of Leonardtown and north of Morganza and along the MD 3 concurrency between Waldorf and the Charles-Prince George's county border. Also, the route was extended south along an unpaved road into Point Lookout State Park. In 1939, MD 5 was rerouted to follow Naylor Road to the Washington, D.C. border while the portion of Branch Avenue leading to the border was designated as MD 637. DC 5 continued into Washington, D.C. along Naylor Road SE, Good Hope Road SE, and 11th Street SE to DC 4 (Pennsylvania Avenue SE). By this time, the section of route between Hughesville and Waldorf was paved while the section between Point Lookout and Leonardtown was a bituminous road. By 1946, MD 5 was paved between Great Mills and Leonardtown. Also, DC 5 was extended to follow DC 4 along Pennsylvania Avenue to US 1 and US 240 at the east side of the White House. In 1949, the DC 5 designation was decommissioned.
In 1950, MD 5 was rerouted to follow Branch Avenue to the Washington, D.C. border, replacing MD 637; MD 637 was designated onto Naylor Road between MD 5 and the Washington, D.C. border by 1966. MD 5 was upgraded from a bituminous to a paved road between St. Mary's City and Great Mills in 1953. The same year, the portion of route along the US 301 concurrency between Waldorf and the Charles-Prince George's county border was widened into a divided highway. MD 5 was relocated to a new alignment to the east between TB and north of Camp Springs in 1956, with a northward extension of MD 381 designated onto the former alignment. This section of MD 381, called Brandywine Road and Old Branch Avenue, was transferred to county maintenance in 1965. In 1959, MD 5 was paved between south of St. Inigoes and St. Mary's City. A year later, the remainder of the route south to Point Lookout was paved. In 1962, MD 5 was widened into a divided highway between south of Newmarket and the St. Mary's-Charles county border and between MD 223 in Clinton and Camp Springs. An interchange was built at the northern terminus of the US 301 concurrency in 1963. The route was upgraded to a divided highway in the Beantown area in 1964. In 1965, MD 5 was improved to a divided highway between MD 235 and south of Newmarket. In 1967, the route was widened into a divided highway between the St. Mary's-Charles county border and MD 488 with the exception of the portion through Hughesville. MD 5 was upgraded to a divided highway between US 301 and MD 223 in 1969. An interchange was constructed at MD 414 in 1970.
MD 5 was routed to bypass Leonardtown by 1993, with the former route becoming MD 5 Bus. During the 1990s and early 2000s, multiple interchanges were constructed along MD 5 in Prince George's County. In 1992, an interchange was built at MD 223. The interchange with MD 337 was built in 1996. In 1999, an interchange was constructed at Coventry Way. In 2001, an interchange was constructed with Manchester Drive and Linda Lane in Camp Springs.
What is now MD 5 between Leonardtown Road and Poplar Hill Road was constructed as a gravel road by 1927. In 1956, MD 382 was extended west into Charles County along part of what had been MD 233 to MD 5 at Beantown. The route was expanded to a four-lane divided highway and was taken over as MD 5's bypass of Waldorf in 1997. Groundbreaking for construction of the bypass took place on November 5, 2004, with $10 million in federal funds given to the project. The old portion of MD 5 that went through Hughesville received the official MD 625 designation in 2006, even though it is signed as MD 5 Bus. The bypass was formally opened on August 8, 2007. Construction of Phase 1, which widened MD 5 to 6 lanes in the vicinity of the interchange, began in November 2009 and was completed in August 2011. Phase 2, which built the interchange itself, went through the design phase, with construction beginning in 2016 and completed in 2020. On February 4, 2019, the intersection with MD 5 and Brandywine Road was replaced with a bridge over MD 5 at the new interchange. In addition, the route is planned to be upgraded to a full freeway between US 301 and the Capital Beltway, with new interchanges at Burch Hill Road/Earnshaw Drive and Surratts Road. This project is currently in the planning stages with many alternatives including upgrading only portions to freeway, adding reversible lanes or high-occupancy vehicle lanes, and various interchange designs.