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Maryland Route 4 north - Upper Marlboro to DC line
In the Upper Marlboro area of Prince George's County, a cloverleaf ramp to the right leads from northbound Maryland Route 4 (Pennsylvania Avenue) to southbound U.S. Route 301 (Crain Highway) toward Richmond, Virginia. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
An exit at Maryland Route 717 (Water Street) sits ahead. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
This exit leads to the Upper Marlboro Town Center and the Show Place Arena on the property of the Prince George's Equestrian Center. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
MD 4 now reaches the Water Street exit. MD 717 is only a third of a mile long, covering a handful of blocks north to Upper Marlboro's Main Street (MD 725). Photo taken 04-09-2025.
The Water Street offramp is followed by a sweeping lefthand curve. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
The highway proceeds to cross Water Street. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
At the bottom of a hill, it then goes over Western Branch, a tributary of the nearby Patuxent River that cuts through downtown Upper Marlboro. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
It then comes time for MD 4 reassurance. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
An interchange with Ritchie Marlboro Road is a mile away. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
Old Crain Highway, which has a southbound offramp from and northbound onramp to MD 4, passes overhead here. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
Tree cover surrounds the highway at the onramp from Old Crain Highway. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
The exit for Ritchie Marlboro Road is up ahead. It makes its way northward and westward to the Capital Beltway and becomes Walker Mill Road shortly thereafter. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
MD 4 curves left, then crosses Ritchie Marlboro. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
An onramp enters ahead on the right. Southbound MD 4 has a left-in/left-out exchange with Ritchie Marlboro. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
Leaving the immediate Upper Marlboro area behind, MD 4 passes along white fencing and the Federal Spring Branch on its north side. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
One-mile advance signage eventually appears for an interchange with Maryland Route 223 (Woodyard Road) toward Westphalia and Clinton. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
The route has to handle more tree cover and another wide curve before the next exit. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
The MD 223 exit is ahead. MD 223 goes southwest to Clinton, where it meets Maryland Route 5 at a diverging diamond interchange. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
The MD 223 offramp gore. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
MD 4 will cease being a freeway in 1½ miles. However, access controls will remain along the route for some time afterward. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
MD 4 passes over MD 223 via these two bridges. Off to the right, Old Marlboro Pike reaches its west end, and to the left, a separate Marlboro Pike begins and parallels MD 4 to the south. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
The Westphalia Town Center, a modern townhome development, sits to the right after MD 223. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
In the median, MDOT boasts of improvements along this section of MD 4 - specifically, an extension of the freeway - with a projected completion date of spring 2029. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
There is one last MD 4 reassurance shield before the freeway ends. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
The shoulder of the highway will now become a third travel lane. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
The freeway ends as a signal approaches after a curve to the right. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
The signal is at Dowerhouse Road, which runs along the east side of the U.S. Army's Joint Base Andrews. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
The next signal is at the east end of Suitland Parkway, a National Park Service facility, which provides access to the Suitland station along the Green Line of the Washington Metro. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
Southeast Washington, DC; the main gate of Andrews; and Camp Springs can all be reached from Suitland Parkway west. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
There is a project to build a freeway interchange between these two highways, which would replace the traffic signal. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
The highway curves right, then back left, forming a backward "S". Photo taken 04-09-2025.
In ¼ mile, MD 4 will have an interchange with Washington's Capital Beltway, bearing the shared designations of Interstates 95 and 495, with control cities of Baltimore and Richmond via the former. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
A traffic light at Old Marlboro Pike (left) and Westphalia Road (right) is forthcoming. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
This overhead gantry then points toward the lane for the outer loop of the Beltway (north) and Westphalia Road. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
At the ramp to the outer loop, the outer loop has an added control city of College Park, while Northern Virginia is broadly mentioned for the inner loop (south). Photo taken 04-09-2025.
Prior to the cloverleaf ramp to the inner loop, MD 4 passes under the Beltway. The sign for the inner loop also swaps out the generic Northern Virginia tag for Alexandria, the first city reached in Virginia at the west end of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
Before its intersection with Forestville Road, MD 4 receives inner loop traffic. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
There is then MD 4 reassurance on the right. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
Forestville Road goes south back toward the Suitland Parkway, then shares a Beltway interchange with Allentown Road (MD 337) on the north end of Andrews. To the right, it soon becomes Ritchie Road which goes due north to the Largo area. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
The highway's third lane is soon to end. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
Now two lanes in each direction, MD 4 comes upon Donnell Drive. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
Donnell Drive cuts directly through the Centre at Forestville. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
Leaving Forestville, MD 4 is faced with a pedestrian crossing. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
Following this is a signal at Walters Lane. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
Subsequently, a segment of Regency Parkway leads into the Pennsylvania Crossing development. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
Parkland Drive leads to Marlboro Pike via Old Silver Hill Road on the south boundary of District Heights. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
MD 4 proceeds to meet Maryland Route 458 (Silver Hill Road) on the boundary between Suitland and Silver Hill. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
At right, Penn Crossing Drive accesses the Penn Place development. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
The route finds itself at a traffic light at Brooks Drive, which proceeds southward through the Bradbury Park subdivision. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
Spaulding Avenue and Quarter Avenue are the next streets intersected. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
To the right, Quarter Avenue leads into Boulevard Heights. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
The route then comes upon Shadyside Avenue and Alton Street. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
Aligned straight momentarily, MD 4 will soon curve wide right. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
At this point the speed limit drops to 35 miles per hour. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
One final Star Spangled Byway marker is at right. Photo taken 04-09-2025.
MD 4 then reaches Southern Avenue and ends at the Washington, DC line. Photo taken 04-09-2025.