 Maryland Route 234 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budds Creek Road | ||||
 Map of Southern Maryland with MD 234 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by MDSHA | ||||
| Length | 19.02 mi[1] (30.61 km) | |||
| Existed | 1927–present | |||
| Tourist routes |  Religious Freedom Byway | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  US 301 in Allens Fresh | |||
| East end |  MD 5 in Leonardtown | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Maryland | |||
| Counties | Charles, St. Mary's | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Maryland Route 234 (MD 234) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Budds Creek Road, the state highway runs 19.02 miles (30.61 km) from U.S. Route 301 (US 301) in Allens Fresh east to MD 5 in Leonardtown. MD 234 is the primary east–west highway of southern Charles County and western St. Mary's County, connecting the St. Mary's County seat of Leonardtown and the communities of Clements, Chaptico, Budds Creek, Wicomico, and Newport with US 301, which heads north to La Plata, the county seat of Charles County, and south to the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge over the Potomac River.
MD 234 originally followed what is now MD 238 from Chaptico east to MD 5 at Helen. The Chaptico–Leonardtown portion of the highway was then designated as part of MD 237. The original MD 234 was constructed in the early 1920s; MD 237 was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s. MD 237 between Clements and Leonardtown was reconstructed around 1950. The Chaptico–Clements section of MD 237 and MD 234 west of Chaptico were rebuilt around 1960, projects that involved many relocations and several new bridges. At the conclusion of the project in 1961, MD 234 was extended east over the former section of MD 237 to Leonardtown; MD 238 was extended from Chaptico to Helen on what was previously MD 234.