New Bay Bridge idea: MD's comment sought on possible replacement

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — In an effort to ease traffic on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Maryland officials have unveiled a possible idea to build two wider spans and then demolish the two current intersections. Previous proposals centered on building a third span to complement the existing two.

The plan is still far from complete. Transportation industry leaders are still evaluating all options, including the possibility of not building anything, in a federally mandated environmental study.

Marylanders will have the opportunity to comment at virtual open houses on Dec. 4, Dec. 9 in Anne Arundel County, and Dec. 11 in Queen Anne's County.

This study will still take two years, so there is still considerable time before a final decision and possible construction.

The Maryland Department of Transportation, which operates the Bay Bridge, believes adding more lanes will help reduce summer weekend traffic that currently causes miles of delays.

MDTA also said existing bridge spans will require more frequent maintenance and will require 24/7 lane closures for construction in the coming decades. The Bay Bridge cost $1.1 billion to maintain from 1970 to 2023, and is projected to cost $3.8 billion from 2024 to 2065 in 2025 dollars.

MDTA also hopes to provide more room for ships heading to the Port of Baltimore by building two entirely new crossings. The tallest ships are barely squeezed under the current Bay Bridge, and logistics experts predict a boom in even larger ships in the near future. The rebuilt Francis Scott Key Bridge is also poised to provide more vertical clearance to accommodate the largest ships and keep the Port of Baltimore competitive.

MDTA has pivoted from talk of complete tunnels, bridge tunnels, and double-decker bridges.

MDTA is not considering building anything yet.

The options required for construction would split a total of eight or 10 lanes between the two spans of the bridge. The overland road approaching the bridge will be split into eastbound and westbound carriageways for a total of six or eight lanes.

MDTA currently lists its “proposed retained alternatives” as either building nothing or building two new alternative spans, including:

Combination A of 8 bridge lanes and 6 approach lanes Combination A of 8 bridge lanes and 8 approach lanes Combination A of 10 bridge lanes and 8 approach lanes

All of these options can be built directly north or south of the existing bridge.

The current span of the bridge has a total of five lanes and a total of six approach lanes.

Eight bridge lanes would cost $7.3 billion, and 10 bridge lanes would cost $8.4 billion.

MDTA may land on other span or lane formats before the study is complete, but these are options explicitly mentioned in upcoming open house materials.

How we got here

Any potential construction is still years away.

Highway officials are currently conducting a traffic and environmental study to determine the best way to ease traffic around the Bay Bridge.

This analysis is required for all projects requiring federal funding or approval under the National Environmental Policy Act. The Federal Highway Administration manages this process. There are two stages to the evaluation.

Maryland conducted the Phase 1 study from fall 2017 to spring 2022. During this phase, more than a dozen corridors were evaluated for new span construction. The study also considered the possibility of not building any new spans at all.

Tier 1 concluded that building a third span near Annapolis' two existing intersections is a preferred but not finalized proposal. This area, known as Corridor 7, is 35 miles long and 3 miles wide. It runs from the Severn River Bridge on the west coast to the junction of Route 50 and Route 301 on the east coast.

With the latest MDTA material analyzing two potential exchange spans, preference for the third span appears to be waning.

what's next

this $28 million Tier 2 investigation Starts from June 2022.

Over the next few years, we will study the traffic and environmental impacts of building an intersection anywhere within this corridor. It will also evaluate alternatives, such as not building a new intersection and using ferries or transit instead.

Officials expect Tier 2 to end in the fall of 2026.

At that point, Maryland will make a formal proposal on whether and exactly where a new intersection should be built.

The financing, design and construction process could take several more years.

Leaders agree that traffic continues to be an issue near the Bay Bridge. With 27.6 million crossings in 2019, the bridge has long been one of Maryland's worst bottlenecks.

If no construction takes place, traffic is expected to increase by about 25-30% by 2045.

How to participate in the town hall

Details on how to attend the December community meeting can be found at baycrossingstudy.com. If you require language or disability accommodations, you must contact MDTA at 410-537-1000 (711 for MD Relay) at least 10 business days prior to the meeting.

All open houses will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. There will be no formal presentation, but representatives will be available to answer questions.

The virtual meeting on Wednesday, December 4th will be held at baycrossingstudy.com.

The Anne Arundel County Forum will be held on Monday, Dec. 9, at Broadneck High School, 1265 Green Holly Drive, Annapolis.

The Queen Anne's County town hall will be held Wednesday, Dec. 11, at Kent Island High School, 900 Love Point Road, Stevensville.

The research team is accepting comments until Monday, January 13, 2025. Comments can be submitted in multiple ways.

You can view the display boards that will be on display at the open house here. For more information, visit baycrossingstudy.com.

Related: