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In 2019, when transportation planners were studying more than a dozen potential locations for a new Chesapeake Bay crossing, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. made headlines when he declared there was only one option he would embrace.
鈥淭here is only one option I will ever accept: adding a third span to our existing Bay Bridge,鈥� tweeted Hogan,聽聽the 14 official 鈥渃orridor鈥� options which stretched the entire length of the bay. 鈥淲hile the federal process requires multiple proposals, the data is indisputable 鈥� this option would maximize congestion relief & minimize environmental impact.鈥�
Over the course of the last few months, however, officials from 12 of Maryland鈥檚 23 counties have quietly embraced a new concept for easing congestion at the Bay Bridge: a new span, with eight or more lanes, to replace the existing spans.
The 12 counties, along with summer destination Ocean City, have passed resolutions or sent letters of support for the concept. Some jurisdictions have directed their letters to Hogan (R) and/or transportation secretary James F. Ports Jr. Others have sent letters of support directly to the Queen Anne鈥檚 County Commission, where the idea appears to have originated.
The letters of support are short 鈥� typically one page 鈥� and strike similar themes.
鈥淒ue to the numerous commuters who use this bridge and the lack of alternative routes, periods of congestion have resulted in major delays despite the rerouting of traffic,鈥� wrote Dorchester County Council President Jay L. Newcomb (D). 鈥淭his is particularly troubling since it provides vital access for emergency services, patient transports and fire response as well as to medical care, residents鈥� places of employment and the homes of their family and friends.鈥�
Queen Anne鈥檚 Commission Chair James Moran (R) said he and his colleagues have made a concerted push to get local leaders to back the replacement bridge concept. He said the current congestion on and near the span, which impacts communities closest the bridge disproportionately, will only get worse as the Eastern Shore grows.
鈥淲e鈥檙e asking for an eight-lane crossing,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we鈥檝e been lobbying all the other counties, because a project of this magnitude is going to take everybody being on board.鈥�
Last week the Federal Highway Administration embraced聽聽that a new crossing in the general vicinity of the existing bridge would draw more traffic away from the current spans than other locations that were studied.
That finding clears the way for a second study that would consider where 鈥� within a two-mile 鈥渃orridor鈥� 鈥� a new bridge should go. A 鈥淭ier 2鈥� study would cost approximately $40 million, officials have said. The state has yet to commit the funding, though Maryland has a massive surplus and Hogan has indicated that moving forward on a new crossing is a top priority.
The term-limited executive is set to leave office in January.
The two-lane eastbound span is nearly 70 years old. The three-lane westbound span opened in 1973.
Sen. Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore) said replacing the current spans with a single eight-lane bridge makes the most fiscal sense. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see a scenario where all three remain there. I think that鈥檚 not cost-effective,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think you have to build something that can accommodate everything, without the cost of maintaining the other two.鈥�
Moran has urged Hogan to fund the next second study immediately, as it would tackle the environmental and design considerations needed to move forward with construction. 鈥淧hase 2 of the [National Environmental Policy Act process] will tell you if, in fact, one bridge comes down, or two bridges come down,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it is our understanding that one of those bridges will come down for sure 鈥� if not both.鈥�
At the Maryland Transportation Authority鈥檚 monthly meeting on Thursday, Ports criticized the media for advancing a 鈥渇alse narrative鈥� that Maryland was pursing a third span 鈥� what Hogan called the 鈥渙nly 鈥� option I will ever accept鈥� in 2019.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 something that鈥檚 never come from this organization,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t came from whomever and the press. But I want to make it clear that that has never come from us. We are not in a position to determine that at this time.鈥�
In a subsequent interview, Ports stressed that, under federal rules, the state cannot pre-determine the best option for any project. 鈥淚 cannot talk about what the bridge might look like,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 say that because of the NEPA process. I can鈥檛 drive that narrative.鈥�
Ports said persistent reports of a 鈥渢hird span鈥� near the Bay Bridge have caused residents of nearby neighborhoods to 鈥済et really, really upset.鈥� He said he and the authority鈥檚 executive director, Will Pines, 鈥渨orked very hard with all of the communities, especially Anne Arundel County and Queen Anne鈥檚 County, on trying to get these resolutions from the counties to support this effort.鈥�
Although most of the focus has been on the size and location of the new span, Pines told the authority鈥檚 board that planners are focusing on improving mobility in the entire 22-mile corridor that runs from the Severn River to the U.S. 301/50 split.
The study, he stressed, 鈥渋ncluded both on-land and over-water improvements.鈥�
鈥淭his is not just a bridge study,鈥� he added. 鈥淚t also includes the entire corridor lanes of highway improvements as well.鈥�
Pines said the first study鈥檚 selection of 鈥淐orridor 7,鈥� the area around the current bridge, does not lock the state in to a third span. A single replacement bridge, he said, would remain a 鈥渧iable鈥� option.
