Divided highway in the context of Speed limit

A median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also applies to divided roadways other than highways, including some major streets in urban or suburban areas. The reserved area may simply be paved, but commonly it is adapted to other functions; for example, it may accommodate decorative landscaping, trees, a median barrier, or railway, rapid transit, light rail, or streetcar lines.

U.S. Route 50 (US 50) (also called Ocean Gateway) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching just over 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from West Sacramento, California, east to Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic Ocean. In the U.S. state of Maryland, US 50 exists in two sections. The longer of these serves as a major route connecting Washington, D.C., with Ocean City, which is the eastern terminus of the highway. The other section passes through the southern end of Garrett County for less than 10 miles (16 km) as part of the Northwestern Turnpike, entering West Virginia at both ends. One notable section of US 50 is the dual-span Chesapeake Bay Bridge across the Chesapeake Bay, which links the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area with the Eastern Shore region, allowing motorists to reach Ocean City and the Delaware Beaches.

US 50 has received numerous upgrades during its existence in Maryland, including the construction of the John Hanson Highway, a portion of which is also the unsigned Interstate 595 (I-595), its extension onto the Eastern Shore and replacement of US 213 due to the construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and the full conversion of the eastern segment of the route into a four-lane divided highway. Many of the older alignments of US 50 are still part of the Maryland and US highway systems, such as US 50 Business (US 50 Bus.) in Salisbury. US 50 continues to be upgraded on the Eastern Shore.

In London, the A40 forms a major trunk road starting in the City of London, and passing through six London Boroughs: Camden, Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, Ealing and Hillingdon, to meet the M40 motorway junction 1 at Denham, Buckinghamshire. Outside London, the road then continues onwards to Fishguard, Wales.

The road has been re-routed several times in the last 100 years – part of the route of the London section of the A40 was laid out in the 1920s and 1930s when Western Avenue was built – now most of it is grade-separated, dual carriageway (divided highway). In the 1960s Westway was constructed, easing traffic access to and from the centre of the city. The A40 links the City of London and the West End to the M40 motorway and M25 motorway. The route is called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road (A40) in legal documents and acts.

The Pikeville Cut-Through is a rock cut in Pikeville, Kentucky, United States, completed in 1987, through which passes a four-lane divided highway (Corridor B, numbered as U.S. Route 23 (US 23), US 119, US 460, and KY 80), a railroad line (CSX' Big Sandy Subdivision), and the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. It is one of the largest civil engineering projects in the Western Hemisphere. Nearly 18,000,000 cubic yards (14,000,000 m) of soil and rock were moved while making the Pikeville Cut-Through. It was designed and constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Pikeville Cut-Through is 1,300 feet (400 m) wide, 3,700 feet (1.1 km) long, and 523 feet (159 m) deep. The project was completed in 1987 following 14 years of work at a cost of $77.6 million ($215 million in 2024 dollars).

Maryland Route 4 (MD 4) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs 64.85 miles (104.37 km) from MD 5 in Leonardtown north to Southern Avenue in Suitland at the District of Columbia boundary, beyond which the highway continues into Washington as Pennsylvania Avenue. MD 4 is a four- to six-lane highway that connects Washington and communities around Interstate 95 (I-95)/I-495 (Capital Beltway) with southern Prince George's County with southwestern Anne Arundel County. The highway is the primary highway for the length of Calvert County, during most of which the route runs concurrently with MD 2. MD 4 also connects Calvert and St. Mary's counties via the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge across the Patuxent River. The highway connects the Southern Maryland county seats of Leonardtown, Prince Frederick, and Upper Marlboro.

MD 4 is one of the original Maryland state highways. The state highway followed roughly its present alignment through Prince George's County, then headed east through Anne Arundel County along what is now MD 408. In the 1960s, MD 4 took over MD 416 (Southern Maryland Boulevard) southeast to Sunderland and joined MD 2 all the way to Solomons. After the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge opened in the late 1970s, MD 4 was extended west from Solomons to Leonardtown. MD 4 has been upgraded to a divided highway for most of its length, beginning in the early 1960s from Washington, reaching Solomons in the mid-1980s, and expected to continue into St. Mary's County in the future.

Maryland Route 210 (MD 210) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Indian Head Highway, the highway runs 20.86 miles (33.57 km) from Potomac Avenue in Indian Head north to the District of Columbia boundary in Forest Heights, where the highway continues into Washington, D.C., as South Capitol Street. MD 210 is a four- to six-lane divided highway that connects Washington, D.C., with the suburban communities of Oxon Hill, Fort Washington, and Accokeek in southwestern Prince George's County, and Bryans Road and Indian Head in northwestern Charles County. The highway also provides access to Fort Washington Park and Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center and, in conjunction with MD 228, connects Waldorf with Interstate 95 (I-95)/I-495 and I-295.

Indian Head Highway was constructed by the U.S. federal government as a military access highway in the mid-1940s to connect Washington with the Indian Head Naval Proving Ground and Fort Washington. The previous highway between Washington, D.C., and Indian Head was Livingston Road, which was traced in the late 18th century and improved in the 1920s and early 1930s as MD 224. The new highway incorporated several sections of meandering MD 224 into its straight path. Indian Head Highway was fully designated MD 210 in the mid-1950s when the road was transferred from federal to state control. MD 210 was expanded to a divided highway in Forest Heights in the late 1940s and south through Fort Washington in the 1960s. Another section of divided highway was completed through Charles County in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The final divided highway section was completed through Accokeek in the mid-1980s. MD 210 was connected with I-295 in 1989 and its interchange with I-95/I-495 was reconstructed in the mid-2000s. The Maryland State Highway Administration has long-term plans to replace the highway's major intersections with interchanges from Oxon Hill south through Fort Washington.

Maryland Route 201 (MD 201) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Kenilworth Avenue, the highway runs 9.40 miles (15.13 km) from the District of Columbia boundary in Tuxedo, where the highway continues south as District of Columbia Route 295 (DC 295), north to MD 212 in Beltsville. MD 201 is a four to six-lane divided highway that connects Washington, D.C., with the northern Prince George's County municipalities of Cheverly, Bladensburg, Edmonston, Riverdale Park, College Park, Berwyn Heights, and Greenbelt. The highway also provides part of the connections from Interstate 95 (I-95)/I-495 to a pair of Washington Metro stations. MD 201 was built as two separate highways in the late 1920s: MD 201 from Washington, D.C., to Bladensburg and MD 205 from Bladensburg to Greenbelt. These highways, some of which became MD 769, were replaced with a relocated Kenilworth Avenue in the mid 1950s, including the Kenilworth Interchange with U.S. Route 50 (US 50) and the Baltimore–Washington Parkway in Tuxedo. MD 201 was extended north to Beltsville in the early 1960s. The Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA) plans to extend MD 201 north toward Laurel.

Maryland Route 2 (MD 2) is the longest state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The 79.24-mile (127.52 km) route runs from Solomons Island in Calvert County north to an intersection with U.S. Route 1 (US 1)/US 40 Truck (North Avenue) in Baltimore. The route runs concurrent with MD 4 through much of Calvert County along a four-lane divided highway known as Solomons Island Road, passing through rural areas as well as the communities of Lusby, Port Republic, Prince Frederick, and Huntingtown. In Sunderland, MD 2 splits from MD 4 and continues north as two-lane undivided Solomons Island Road into Anne Arundel County, still passing through rural areas. Upon reaching Annapolis, the route runs concurrent with US 50/US 301 to the north of the city. Between Annapolis and Baltimore, MD 2 runs along the Governor Ritchie Highway (also known as the Ritchie Highway), a multilane divided highway that heads through suburban areas, passing through Arnold, Severna Park, Pasadena, Glen Burnie, and Brooklyn Park. In Baltimore, the route heads north on city streets and passes through the downtown area of the city.

What became part of MD 2 was originally planned as two different state roads in 1909. The portion between Solomons and Annapolis was built as a gravel road called Solomons Island Road between 1910 and 1915. The portion of road between Annapolis and Glen Burnie was built as part of the Baltimore–Annapolis Boulevard, a road authorized in 1910 to connect Baltimore and Annapolis and was completed in 1924 with the construction of a bridge over the Severn River leading to Annapolis. A state road between Glen Burnie and Baltimore was completed in 1911. MD 2 was designated in 1927 between Solomons and Baltimore, using Solomons Island Road, streets through Annapolis, the Baltimore–Annapolis Boulevard, and the state road between Glen Burnie and Baltimore. MD 2 was marked up to US 1 in Baltimore in 1939. In the 1930s, MD 2 was realigned onto the four-lane Governor Ritchie Highway between Annapolis and Baltimore; the former routing along Baltimore–Annapolis Boulevard became MD 648. Ritchie Highway became a divided highway in 1950. Between the 1930s and the 1950s, several upgrades and realignments occurred to the portion of MD 2 between Solomons and Annapolis. MD 2 was realigned to bypass Annapolis on the US 50 freeway in 1955, with MD 450 replacing the route through Annapolis. The route between Solomons and Sunderland became concurrent with MD 416 in 1960, which was renumbered to MD 4 in 1965. Between the 1960s and the 1980s, MD 2/MD 4 between Solomons and Sunderland was widened into a divided highway, with the bypassed former alignments becoming multiple sections of MD 765. The Ritchie Highway portion of the route was originally the main route between Annapolis and Baltimore until Interstate 97 (I-97) was completed in the 1990s.