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February 3, 2023

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New Bay Crossing Site Narrowed to Three Options

September 2, 2020 by Spy Desk

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The best location for a third Bay Bridge would be adjacent to the current spans, according to a state agency report. Two other options — one north of the existing bridges and one south — out of the five remaining alternatives also will undergo additional study.

The Maryland Transportation Authority selected the three alternatives based on traffic congestion, safety, dependable and reliable travel times, flexibility for maintenance and incident management, and financial viability.

The ongoing study also will include a no-build alternative.

Phase 1 of the Chesapeake Bay Crossing Study outlined 14 possible alternatives. Corridors 1-4 and 10-14 were eliminated from further consideration because those locations would not provide adequate traffic capacity to reduce congestion at the current crossing.

A study of potential sites for a new crossing of the Chesapeake Bay initially included 14 options. Corridors 6-8, highlighted in yellow, remain under consideration.

Phase 2 looked in more detail at corridors 5-9 and further reduced the alternatives to Corridors 6, 7, and 8.

Corridor 7 is where the existing Bay Bridge spans are located.

Corridor 6 would be north of the current bridges, with the western end located east of Pasadena in Anne Arundel County and the eastern side connecting near Rock Hall in Kent County before crossing the Chester River into Queen Anne’s County and connecting with Route 213 south of Centreville.

Corridor 8 would be south of the current bridges, with the western end located south of Annapolis. The bridge would pass south of Kent Island, connecting with Talbot County and ultimately to U.S. Route 50 north of Easton.

The detailed traffic analysis for the five remaining corridors showed “Corridor 5 would not provide an acceptable level of flexibility for incident diversion and would cause potentially major indirect effects on the Eastern Shore. Corridor 9 would also require substantial additional travel time for incident diversion and would result in unreasonably long duration of queues on summer weekends at the existing crossing (six hours with queues of one mile or greater on non-summer weekdays),” according to the report. And both Corridors 5 and 9 would do little to improve congestion at the current crossing based on traffic projections for 2040.

Cost and environmental impacts also are factors and Corridor 7, with the shortest overall crossing, would likely cost the least and “would likely result in fewer overall direct impacts.”

“While Corridors 6, 7, and 8 are all recommended to be carried forward for further evaluation, the screening results show that Corridor 7 has advantages over Corridors 6 and 8,” according to the report. “The advantages of Corridor 7 include better congestion relief at the existing Bay Bridge, more effective reduction of duration of unacceptable LOS (level of service), more effective backup reduction at the Bay Bridge, the best diversion route, and better compatibility with existing land-use patterns likely resulting in fewer indirect effects.”

Read the full report here:

BCS Alternatives Report

Filed Under: News Homepage Tagged With: Bay Bridge, bridge, crossing, Kent County, queen anne's county, study, Talbot County

Silver Lining with the Bay Bridge by Howard Freedlander

April 4, 2020 by Howard Freedlander

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Not all is somber in our currently isolated lives. Some good news popped up last week. I had to share my glee.

Gov. Hogan announced last week on April 1 that reconstruction of westbound right lane on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is 100 percent complete. I read the article in The Star Democrat several times to make sure that our governor was not playing an April Fool’s prank.

I am on record for bemoaning what was supposed to be a two-year project that had wreaked havoc on Eastern Shore motorists crossing the Bay Bridge to conduct personal and professional business on the Western Shore. I have written about my love-hate relationship with a bridge that I crossed for nearly 30 years as a commuter.

As it turns out, our past winter’s moderate weather and the coronavirus combined to expedite the rehabilitation project, not to speak of the governor’s intense interest in the project. Constant complaints from Marylanders caught in awful back-ups surely reached the State House.

The deadly COVID-19 naturally draws few, if any favorable reviews. But, for me, if it played even a minor role in speeding up the annoying but necessary bridge project, I am pleased.

Of course, the silver lining has a few wrinkles. Since Gov. Hogan has righty directed sheltering in place in an attempt to “flatten the curve” of the quickly spreading disease, travel across the Bay Bridge to see family and keep medical appointments has become a non-event.  Video communication has replaced up-close contact.

This oft-frustrated Bay Bridge motorist feels thankful to the governor for his prodding and pushing. Jim Ports, executive director of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA), the state agency responsible for Maryland’s bridges, also deserves credit. He was the point person for the governor’s impatience and the public’s ire at the inconvenience.

I look forward to leaving my bunker some day and traveling across the rehabilitated westbound span. 

Columnist Howard Freedlander retired in 2011 as Deputy State Treasurer of the State of Maryland. Previously, he was the executive officer of the Maryland National Guard. He also served as community editor for Chesapeake Publishing, lastly at the Queen Anne’s Record-Observer. In retirement, Howard serves on the boards of several non-profits on the Eastern Shore, Annapolis and Philadelphia.

Filed Under: Howard, Top Story Tagged With: Bay Bridge

Bay Bridge Report: Expect Delays for St. Patrick’s and Easter Weekends

March 8, 2020 by Spy Desk

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After a winter with crews expediting #BayBridgeWork with the help of lower traffic volumes and occasional mild temperatures, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) is preparing for an aggressive construction schedule in the coming weeks that will advance the project to rehabilitate the westbound right lane. Motorists should expect significant backups and delays as the work will coincide with increases in traffic volume that come with warmer weather.

Governor Larry Hogan’s aggressive timeline for the project, aimed at reopening all lanes of the Bay Bridge by summer, has gotten a boost over the winter. Relatively mild temperatures allowed crews to fill 13 bridge joints and all eight full-depth puncture holes with rapid set concrete. The success of those pours sets the stage to help streamline the upcoming pours of latex modified concrete (LMC) – decking material that needs temperatures of at least 45 degrees and a five-day curing process.

About 58% of the westbound span’s right lane has already received the latex modified concrete layer. After the remaining 42% of the right lane deck has been laid with latex material, the lane will be able to support traffic. As a reminder, this deck project is necessary because the westbound right lane surface has reached the end of its service life and is severely deteriorated.

Crews will continue to take advantage of good weather. Motorists should be aware that in coming weeks, mid-day westbound center lane closures may take place weekdays between the morning and afternoon rush hours. The center lane closures are necessary to give crews a safe work zone as they pour concrete onto the right lane. The center lane closures may occur Monday through Friday, any time between 10 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. daily, though the exact schedule will depend on weather, traffic volumes and work progress.

Spring Brings Progress, Travel Delays

While MDTA may adjust the construction schedule to avoid peak travel periods, motorists should allow extra travel time when crossing the bridge and expect major delays in both directions as spring approaches and traffic volumes increase.

Major weekend delays are anticipated as more people travel to the Eastern Shore for St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, spring break and warmer weekends in late April. In previous years during April, Bay Bridge motorists experienced weekend delays even when two-way traffic operations were in place to help alleviate eastbound delays. Weekend delays have the potential to extend to I-97 eastbound and the US 50/301 split westbound, even without weather impacts and incidents.

MDTA is asking motorists to plan ahead and travel the Bay Bridge during these off-peak periods:

  • St. Patrick’s Day weekend, Friday, March 13, through Sunday, March 15, the best times to travel will be before 10 a.m. and after 8 p.m.
  • Easter weekend, Thursday, April 9, through Sunday, April 12, the best times to travel will be before 10 a.m. and after 10 p.m. On Monday, April 13, the best times will be before 6 a.m. and after 6 p.m.

As always, MDTA urges drivers to stay alert in work zones, and thanks motorists and communities for their patience as this critical work advances. Also, remember that incidents or disabled vehicles can cause further backups and delays. Two-way traffic operations will be reserved for emergency situations and severe backups only. MDTA Police will continue working with Maryland State Police and local law enforcement to assist with traffic flow on US 50 and parallel routes. Bay Bridge drivers are reminded to stay on US 50 to keep local roadways open for first responders and residents.

The westbound project also includes replacement of overhead signals and steel rail posts, deck sealing and deck/joint repairs in the center and left lanes. After the right lane is reopened, this additional work will take place during overnight/off-peak closures in the 2020-2021 construction season with minimal impact on traffic. Parts of this phase will require placement of steel plates in some areas of the bridge.

Filed Under: News Notes Tagged With: Bay Bridge

Out and About (Sort of): Early Christmas Gift by Howard Freedlander

February 11, 2020 by Howard Freedlander

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Hurray!

Two weeks ago, Gov. Larry Hogan announced that the redecking of the westbound span of the Bay Bridge would be completed a year early, possibly by this summer. Three-lane traffic would resume.

Christmas can arrive early, offering gifts wrapped in good news and visible relief. That’s the case here.

Life looks brighter, unclouded by delays and frustration.

During the past six months, few of us have avoided long, aggravating back-ups due to a necessary but poorly planned project affecting hundreds of thousands of trips across the Bay Bridge. The inconvenience and stress were palpable. Conversations often began, “You won’t believe how long I had to wait at that damn bridge.”

Kudos to Hogan for listening to the howls of angry despair when the westbound span’s right lane was closed at the end of September. The governor would have had to plead real or feigned deafness when massive back-ups occurred in both Anne Arundel and Queen Anne’s counties. He responded immediately and demanded that the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) act quickly to reduce the uproar.

And so it did. The contractor began working 24 hours a day, instead of in stages. The eventual cost of the projected $27 million project is unknown at this point. The public will benefit from the additional cost.

Any belly-aching would be meaningless; two years, instead of one, would have cost unmeasurable mental anguish.

While Hogan’s rightly-focused fury on relieving back-ups of 14 miles at times expedited the project, another factor came into play: climate change. We have enjoyed warmer temperatures. Concrete “cures” better in warmer conditions.

Indications of climate change/global warming usually generate negative reactions among many concerned about the human contribution to degradation of normal climatic cycles. So, it’s ironic when unseasonably warm temperatures have beneficial effects.

I’ve written frequently about my love-hate relationship with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. For nearly 30 years, I commuted from Easton to Baltimore and Annapolis. Traffic conditions on the two spans became periodically unpleasant parts of my work day. As it did for thousands of others.

I suspect that 2019-2020 will be a seminal year for Hogan and MdTA. I predict that public sentiment will begin leaning toward a third Bay Bridge span. Memories of miles-long traffic delays will be fresh in the minds of motorists who use the 4.3-mile Bay Bridge to commute, shop, keep medical appointments or travel to see friends and family—not to speak of emergency medical vehicles heading to hospitals.

I have many reservations about a third Bay Bridge span and its environmental impact on life on the Eastern Shore. I question the continued dependence on cars to travel.

My qualms and concerns likely will be useless. The die is cast, I believe. The governor already has stated his preference for a third span adjoining the existing two.

Thank you, Gov. Hogan, for demanding a resolution to the bridge mess. The MdTA quickly altered the redecking rehabilitation project.

Delays won’t cease yet. However, the future looks promising.

Columnist Howard Freedlander retired in 2011 as Deputy State Treasurer of the State of Maryland. Previously, he was the executive officer of the Maryland National Guard. He also served as community editor for Chesapeake Publishing, lastly at the Queen Anne’s Record-Observer. In retirement, Howard serves on the boards of several non-profits on the Eastern Shore, Annapolis and Philadelphia.

Filed Under: Howard, Top Story Tagged With: Bay Bridge, Hogan

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