In the early 1960s, the disjoint northern segment of the highway was transferred to the county and the highway's present southern terminus was established when MD 279 moved to a new alignment north of Elkton in the early 1960s.

The two-lane undivided highway heads northeast and passes northwest of the Gilpin Manor Memorial Park cemetery, on either side of which the highway crosses a tributary of Big Elk Creek.

MD 316 intersects Belle Hill Road, curves north, and crosses over Interstate 95 (John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway) without access.

The highway passes west of the Cecil County School of Technology and follows the eastern edge of the Elk Mills Quarry to its northern terminus at MD 277 near Elk Mills.

[3] Both the Newark Road and the Barksdale Road, which followed what is now MD 316 north from the Newark Road toward the village of Barksdale north of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O Railroad, now CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision), were planned to be built by the state but were instead constructed by Cecil County with state aid.