Our Chesapeake Bay Bridge’s Long History This content is sponsored by Maryland Transportation Authority The William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial…

Our Chesapeake Bay Bridge’s Long History

This content is sponsored by Maryland Transportation Authority

The William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge, known as the Bay Bridge, is a major dual span bridge in Maryland. The Bay Bridge crosses the Chesapeake Bay along US 50/301. It provides a direct connection between recreational and ocean regions on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and the metropolitan areas of Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington, D.C. At a little over four miles, the spans are among the world’s longest and most scenic over-water structures.

The bridge is named after former Maryland Governor William Preston Lane, Jr., who initiated its construction. Studies looking at the possibility of building a bridge across the Chesapeake Bay may have been conducted as early as the 1880s. In 1938, the Maryland General Assembly submitted a proposal for a bridge at the Sandy Point-Kent Island location. Legislation for the construction of the bridge was passed, however the construction was delayed because of the United States involvement in World War II.

In 1947, the General Assembly, under the leadership of Governor Lane, passed legislation to begin bridge construction. Construction on the bridge began in 1949 and opened to traffic on July 30, 1952. The construction cost was $45 million. At that time, it was the longest continuous over-water steel structure and third longest bridge in the world.

In 1967, due to increasing traffic volume, the Maryland General Assembly authorized the State Roads Commission to oversee construction of three possible locations for a new crossing. These locations included one north, near Baltimore, one in Southern Maryland and one next to the existing bridge from Kent Island to Sandy Point. The option of an additional bridge at Sandy Point was given the highest priority, and construction of the new span began in 1969 and was completed on June 28, 1973. The construction cost was $148 million.

The two spans are 4.33 (westbound) and 4.35 (eastbound) miles long and form the longest fixed water crossing in Maryland. The eastbound span provides a two-lane roadway for travelers and the westbound span provides three lanes. The Bay Bridge is 186 feet high at its highest point – high enough to accommodate ocean-going vessels and ships – and to give passengers a bird’s eye view of some beautiful scenery. The height of the suspension-bridge towers are 354 feet (eastbound) and 379 feet (westbound). The curve near the western side of the bridge was built so that the main spans cross the bay’s shipping channels at 90 degrees, a requirement of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

Traffic volume has increased significantly over the years in part due to more development on Kent Island and the Eastern Shore. In addition to beach goers, more people now live on the Eastern Shore and use the bridge as part of their daily commute.

In 1952, traffic volume in both directions was 870,000 and in 2016 it was 26.6 million. The bridge’s traffic capacity is 1,500 vehicles per lane, per hour. On an average Friday in the summer, more than 56,000 vehicles cross the eastbound span and more than 36,000 cross the westbound span. During periods of heavy eastbound traffic, one lane of the westbound bridge is “reversed” to carry eastbound travelers (“two-way” traffic operations). Tolls are collected in the eastbound direction only. To learn more about Bay Bridge traffic operations, tolls and best times to travel visit baybridge.com, call 1-877-BAYSPAN (229-7726) or follow @TheMDTA on Twitter.