Maryland Route 281 (MD 281) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Red Hill Road, the state highway runs 2.12 miles (3.41 km) from MD 7 east to the Delaware state line in Elkton in northeastern Cecil County. MD 281 and its continuation in Delaware were originally blazed in the 18th century as part of the Old Post Road between Baltimore and Philadelphia. The route was part of the Elk and Christiana Turnpike in the early 19th century and later the Old Baltimore Pike, but it was replaced as the main highway east from Elkton by U.S. Route 40 (US 40) in the early 20th century. MD 281 was constructed in Elkton in the early 1930s. The highway designation was extended east to the state line in the late 1950s; that extension was reconstructed in the early