Conceived in 1937, it was built during World War II to provide a road connection between military facilities in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and is named after Suitland, Maryland.

Its eastern terminus is at Pennsylvania Avenue (Maryland Route 4), just outside the Capital Beltway and near Joint Base Andrews.

The Suitland Parkway begins at an interchange with I-295 and South Capitol Street in Washington, D.C., heading southeast as a four-lane expressway.

The road intersects Firth Sterling Avenue SE at a traffic light before passing near residential areas and curving to the south.

Just after Firth Sterling Avenue SE, the parkway used to intersect a railroad line at a road crossing.

Past MD 458, the parkway median widens again and the road continues through woodland a short distance to the southwest of the Green Line.

[8] Commercial vehicles, such as trucks, are allowed on the Washington, D.C. portion of the parkway, but must exit at Alabama Avenue.