Estimate a Price Tag of $17 Billion for the Project
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After years of planning, public comment, and discussion, the Maryland Transit Authority Board has approved an proposal for the replacement of Maryland's beleaguered Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The plan for the bridge, which has grown into a traffic nightmare over the past 15 years, has been under discussion since 2017. The Bay Crossing Study has been implemented since 2022, proposing different alternate locations, providing community input sessions, and doing studies of the feasibility of different placements of a new bridge.
On Thursday, December 18, the MTA Board voted to approve "alternative C" which proposes two new four lane bridges at the site of the current bridges. Aside from the fact that this access is the one that would require fewer studies it would also allow for access to the bridge via the current Rt. 50/301 route, reducing costs even though adjustments to the access corridors.
The plan is to build the new eastbound bridge south of the current bridge. When that bridge is completed, the old eastbound bridge would be torn down. Then, a second westbound bridge would be built between the spans of the current bridges. Total cost is estimated to be around $17 billions dollars. The best-case completion date is 2032.
“It would add needed capacity and remove the bottleneck at the Bay Bridge in both directions on our nonsummer weekdays and eastbound on the summer weekend days. It would also limit two-way operations, which we call contraflow and it would provide full-width shoulders for maintenance and emergencies," MDTA Director of Planning Melissa Williams said.
“I think it’s important to note that Alternative C is the lowest cost with the least environmental impacts of all of the build alternatives,” Williams said.
The project now heads into the next phase of public comment and federal approval.
