Route 222 (Maryland) - History

History

What is now MD 222 was originally designated MD 268. The first paved section of MD 268 was Aiken Avenue from Broad Street north to around present-day US 40 in Perryville, which was surfaced by 1910. Aiken Avenue was extended north to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (now CSX) as a state-aid road by 1919. The highway was extended as a state road north from the B&O crossing to the top of the bluff above Port Deposit by 1921. Pavement was extended through Port Deposit to Rock Run in 1923. The final section of MD 268, Susquehanna River Road, was under construction by 1930 and completed by 1933. The highway reused an abandoned railroad bridge to cross Octoraro Creek.

The first change in alignment in MD 268 occurred around 1934 when a bridge was constructed over the B&O Railroad in Perryville, leaving behind Aiken Avenue Extended and Clayton Street. US 222 was extended south to US 40 in Perryville, then on Broad Street, in 1938, assuming all of MD 268. US 222 was reconstructed from US 40 to Port Deposit during World War II to improve access to the naval training center. In 1963, a new alignment was created for the interchange with I-95, bypassing Blythedale Road, which became MD 824. US 222's southern terminus was rolled back to US 1 in Conowingo in 1995; MD 222 was designated along its present course at the same time. MD 222 became the only signed state-numbered highway in Maryland with a number that matches a U.S. Highway.