Maryland Route 346 - History

History

The original highway between Salisbury and Ocean City, which followed much of which is now MD 346, was marked for improvement as a state road by the Maryland State Roads Commission in 1909. This highway was paved from Salisbury to Berlin in 1914 and from Berlin toward Ocean City in 1915. The road followed present-day MD 346 with two exceptions: the highway exited Salisbury on Church Street; and in Berlin, the state road followed Main Street south to the downtown area, then northeast toward Ocean City on Williams Street before rejoining MD 346's course. Main Street in Salisbury was extended east from the downtown area to its present intersection with Church Street in 1925 and 1926. In Berlin, the cut-off between Main Street and Williams Street was completed by 1927. US 213 was assigned to the Salisbury – Ocean City road in 1927. The U.S. Highway originally followed Church Street out of downtown Salisbury, while Main Street was also a state highway. In 1940, the two highways swapped streets, with US 213 following Main Street and the other highway using Church Street from US 13 (now US 13 Business) to the intersection of Main Street and Church Street on the east side of Salisbury. That other highway was marked MD 346 by 1946 at the latest. MD 346 was removed from Church Street in Salisbury in 1954. US 50 replaced US 213 from Wye Mills to Ocean City in 1949. US 50's bypass of Berlin was completed in 1958. Salisbury Parkway (now US 50 Business) from MD 349 to Main Street was completed by 1964 and US 50's four-lane divided highway between MD 346's western terminus and the US 50–MD 346 intersection west of Berlin opened in 1965. MD 346 was assigned to the old alignment of US 50 from Salisbury to west of Berlin in 1966 and through Berlin in 1967.