is the longest
State Highway in Maryland. Much of the northern section consists of '''Governor Ritchie Highway''', the first high-speed roadway connecting
Baltimore and
Annapolis . Route 2 is the only highway to run the north-south length of
Anne Arundel County .
Route 2 serves:
Route 2 begins at
U.S. Route 1 as a part of St. Paul Street in Baltimore. It then follows Light Street, and then Hanover Street before meeting with Ritchie Highway.
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Opened in 1934, Ritchie Highway, named for former Maryland Governor
Albert C. Ritchie , begins at the Baltimore City line at the intersection of Potee Street, Hanover Street, and Old Camp Meade Road in Brooklyn Park. The highway ends (as
Maryland Route 450 ) at the Severn River, just outside of Annapolis, near the
U.S. Naval Academy . This highway was used by metro area travelers to the
Chesapeake Bay Bridge while traveling to Ocean City prior to the completion of
Interstate 97 in 1993.
Near Annapolis, Route 2 leaves Ritchie Highway, where Ritchie Highway continues as MD 450, and Route 2 becomes multiplexed with
U.S. Highway 50 ,
U.S. Route 301 and briefly, unsigned
Interstate 595 before exiting onto Solomons Island Road at Exit 23. Solomons Island Road goes south, through southern Anne Arundel County until meeting with
Maryland Route 4 in
Calvert County . The two are multiplexed as "Route 2/4" for over 25 miles before Route 2 leaves the highway to enter
Solomons Island .
- Prior to being multiplexed with US 50 and US 301, Route 2 went through Annapolis proper on the current alignment of Maryland Route 450 .
- The total length of Route 2 is over 80 miles.
