After rejecting proposals for additional Bay crossings, state officials are now looking to expand the current Bay Bridge spans to add additional lanes in each direction. Photo courtesy the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
By Mike Murillo
State officials are seeking public input on their plan for a Chesapeake Bay Bridge that could be up to 10 lanes wide, connecting motorists to and from the Eastern Shore between Sandy Point and Kent Island.
The Maryland Transportation Authority said Tuesday it will host three meetings in December, one virtual and one each in Annapolis and Stevensville on six alternative plans for the bridge as it moves forward in an environmental study for the project.
Those plans have been narrowed down to removing the aging current spans — the two-lane eastbound span is more than 70 years old and the three-lane westbound span is more than 50 years old — and building new spans with four or five lanes in each direction. The spans would be built alongside the current structures.
The state began the formal process of studying potential new Bay crossings in 2022 by looking at 14 possible routes for a crossing, before settling on the current alignment because of its cost and environmental impacts compared to other alignments.
State officials also considered several options for the new crossing, including a tunnel, a bridge-tunnel combination and double-decker bridge, but all of those were ultimately rejected in favor of side-by-side spans.
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The replacement bridge would be built one span at time near the current spans — north or south or, possibly, with one between the current spans — with older spans eventually being removed.
The replacement spans would carry a total of eight or 10 lanes, compared to the current five. The new structures would also be taller, as the state claims the current spans “do not provide desired navigational vertical clearance” for larger, modern ships heading in and out of the Port of Baltimore.
Bigger shoulders, bike and pedestrian lanes and bus service improvements are also being considered. So too is congestion pricing for drivers who use the crossing.
The state estimates the cost of a new bridge could range from $7.3 billion to $8.4 billion, depending on the number of lanes chosen. One alternative is not rebuilding the spans and instead paying to maintain them, which the state estimates would cost $3.8 billion through 2065.
The first hearing will be held online on Dec. 4, and the second will happen at Broadneck High School in Annapolis on Dec. 9. The final meeting will be on Dec. 11 at Kent Island High School in Stevensville. All three meetings will go from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. People can also submit their comments online at any time.