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CAN CAUSE A MAJOR HEADACHE, AND AS 11 NEWS REPORTER LACEE GRIFFITH SHOWS US, THE EXCESSIVE TRAFFIC IS TAKING MAJOR TOLL. REPORTER: THOUSANDS OF CARS RETURNING FROM THE BEACH SQUEEZING ONTO THE BRIDGE. DELAYS ARE EXTENSIVE. >> LATELY, THEY HAVE BEEN OVER 10 MILES. REPORTER: BASICALLY, WESTBOUND 50 IS BACKED UP AT LEAST TO THE 301 SPLIT IN QUEENSTOWN. PEOPLE MERGE FROM 50, 301, AND 404. >> THREE YEARS AGO, HE MIGHT’VE HAD A BACKUP ON LABOR DAY, MEMORIAL DAY, JULY FOR NOW, IT IS EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT. REPORTER: ON SUNDAY, JULY 7, COUNTY COMMISSIONER JIM MORAN SAYS THE BACK-UP STRETCHED ALMOST 17 MILES. THAT IS THE RED ON THIS MAP. WHILE 50 IS VERY SLOW IT'S ROUTE 18 THROUGH TOWN, CAUSING HUGE PROBLEMS FOR LOCALS. >> THEY ARE CUTTING IN FRONT OF EACH OTHER TO GET ONE CAR AHEAD. REPORTER: THEY ARE HOPING TO SAVE TIME. >> THERE IS ONE UNIQUE THING ABOUT QUEEN ANNE’S COUNTY. THERE IS ONE WAY IN, AND THERE IS ONE WAY OUT. >> THERE IS A LINE OF CARS, AND MOST OF THE PLATES LIKE THAT, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, VIRGINIA. >> YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO MAKE THIS LIKE THIS JUST TO GO TO THE STORE. REPORTER: IT COULD MEAN LIFE OR DEATH WITH EMERGENCY RESPONDERS HAVING TO DRIVE THROUGH THIS METH WITH EACH CALL. >> IS ABOUT FOUR OR SEVEN MINUTES WE COULD BE HERE. SUNDAY, IT IS ANYWHERE FROM 10, 15, MAYBE EVEN 20 MINUTES GETTING FROM HOME TO THE FIRE STATION. REPORTER: MOST OF THESE COUNTY FIREFIGHTERS ARE VOLUNTEERS, SO THEY ARE AT HOME WHEN THEY GET A CALL. THE KENT ISLAND AND GRASONVILLE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS BOTH SIT ON ROUTE 18-MAIN STREET, AND EVERY MINUTE COUNTS. >> LIKE THE NATIONAL AVERAGE, WITH TRAFFIC BEING LIKE IT IS, STANDING BY, THERE IS NO WAY WE CAN EVEN COME CLOSE TO THAT. REPORTER: MORAN’S IS A BIG PART OF THE PROBLEM IS GPS TRAFFIC APPS. >> PEOPLE KNOW BY THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM WAZE, AND EVERYTHING ELSE , THEY CAN JUMP OFF ROUTE 50 AND GET ON SOME OF THESE SIDE ROADS, DOES NOT WORK. 50 IS THE QUICKEST AND IF WE WOULD STAY ON 50, THEY WOULD GET TO THE BRIDGE FASTER, THEY WOULD GET HOME FAST. REPORTER: THEY CANNOT SHUT DOWN EVERYTHING. >> TRAFFIC IS AT SEVEN MILES PER HOUR, TWO MILES PER HOUR, A SEVEN MILE PER HOUR STANDSTILL ON ROUTE 18 ALL THE WAY BACK UP TO BAY BRIDGE, WHEN YOU CAN SEE ROUTE 50 IS FLOWING JUST FINE. REPORTER: SO POLICE ARE PARKED AT SOME OF THE RAMPS, DISPLAYING SIGNS ON THEIR VEHICLES. >> THIS IS JUST A VERY CASUAL MESSAGE. STAY ON ROUTE 50. IT IS MUCH QUICKER. REPORTER: ALSO, ON JULY 7, THE COUNTY SHUT DOWN RAMP 18 FROM 50 AND QUEENSTOWN, AND HE SAYS HE WILL CONTINUE TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED. >> IF IT GETS TO A POINT WHERE TRAFFIC BECOMES IMPASSABLE, WE WILL CLOSE DOWN THOSE RAMPS WITH OR WITHOUT THE STATE'S PERMISSION. REPORTER: ANOTHER SOLUTION THE COUNTY IS INTERESTED IN IS ADDING A DAY BRIDGE SPAN. >> WE DO NOT CARE WHERE THE CROSSING IS AS LONG AS ONE GETS BUILT. REPORTER: YOU CAN ACCESS LIVE TRAFFIC CAMERAS TO SEE HOW BAD THE D

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Excessive traffic bound for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is taking a major toll on first responders and local traffic in Queen Anne’s County.Link: CHART Traffic Cameras | Check Traffic MapBay Bridge traffic can cause a major headache during the summer, especially on Sundays, when everyone is coming back from the beach at around the same time."Three years ago, you might have had a backup on Labor Day, Memorial Day, July Fourth. Now -- and I know -- it's every Sunday night," Queen Anne's County Commissioner Jim Moran said.The Maryland State Highway Administration said tens of thousands of cars sit in gridlock on U.S. Route 50, returning from the beach and squeezing onto the Bay Bridge.Delays are extensive."Lately, they’ve been over 10 miles," Moran said.Basically, westbound Route 50 traffic is backed up at least to the U.S. Route 301 split in Queenstown, where traffic merges from Routes 50, 301 and 404."Delaware just opened a bypass that takes you from (Interstate) 95 and dumps you right out on (Route) 301, and in less than one year, there's 25 percent more vehicles coming south on 301 headed toward the Bay Bridge," Moran said.On July 7, Moran said the backup stretched almost 17 miles.While Route 50 is very slow, it’s Maryland Route 18 through town that's causing huge problems for locals."I see people, they get so anxious, they’re cutting in front of each other to get one car length ahead," Moran said.People are using Route 18 to bypass a portion of Route 50 in hopes of saving time."The unique thing about Queen Anne's County is, there is one way in and there’s one way out," Moran said."This is a total line of cars and most of the plates (are from) New Jersey, New York, Virginia," Queen Anne County Sheriff Gary Hofmann said."The whole island just becomes a huge parking lot. Just people going to the store, you shouldn’t have to make a half a day plan just to go to the store," Kent Island Fire Chief Buddy Thomas said.Traffic jams stall emergency respondersEmergency responders have to drive through the traffic with each call, which could mean life or death.Most of the county firefighters are volunteers, so they’re at home when they get a call."Any other day during the week other than Sunday, it's about four to seven minutes we could be here. Sunday, it's anywhere from 10, 15, maybe even 20 minutes getting from home to the fire station," volunteer firefighter Mills Yslas said.The Kent Island and Grasonville volunteer fire departments both sit on Route 18/Main Street, and every minute counts."We like to be on the street by less than five minutes, it’s like a national average, and with the traffic being like it is, if nobody is here standing by, there’s no way we can even come close to that," Thomas said.Moran said GPS traffic apps are a big part of the problem."People know by the navigation system, Waze, and everything else, they can jump off of Route 50 and get on some of these side roads, and it doesn’t work. (Route) 50 is the quickest. And if (travelers) would stay on 50, they’d get to the bridge faster and they’d get home faster," Moran said.Moran said the county contacted Waze and was told it can block out certain roads at specific times, but it cannot shut down everything."Traffic is at a complete 7 mph, 2 mph, 7 mph standstill on Route 18 all the way back up toward the Bay Bridge, when you can see Route 50 is flowing just fine," Hoffman said.So police in the area are parked at some of the ramps, displaying signs on their vehicles."This is just a very casual message that says, 'Hey, local traffic, use local routes. If you're headed to the bridge, stay on Route 50, it's much quicker,'" Hofmann said.The SHA also urges drivers to stay on Route 50 as the best route for through traffic.What are the options?On July 7, the county shut down the ramp onto Route 18 from Route 50 in Queenstown, and Moran said he'll continue to do what's needed."If it gets to a point where this traffic becomes impassable, we will close those ramps with or without the state's permission," Moran said.The SHA encourages people to plan their drive home accordingly. A spokesperson said the "bottom line is that the two-lane roads (like Route 18) are not designed for that kind of volume."Another solution the county is interested in is adding another Bay Bridge span."We don’t care where the crossing is, as long as one gets built, because the whole (time) while we're waiting, Queen Anne's County is suffering and dying," Moran said.The SHA says the best time to travel is before 10 a.m. and after 10 p.m. Travelers can use the Maryland Coordinated Highways Action Response Team live traffic cameras on the website to see when traffic levels are high.Moran said he has a meeting this week with the state to go over options for the Sunday traffic mess.