Maryland Spending $5 Million to Study Another Span for the Bay Bridge

"Gov. Larry Hogan said Tuesday that the state will spend $5 million and up to four years studying where to put — and how to pay for — a possible third span across the Chesapeake Bay," reports Erin Cox. The bridge could potentially cost $6.85 billion.

"The congested and aging Bay Bridge has vexed transportation planners for decades," according to Cox. Apparently the construction of the bridge is still sturdy, and will remain so until 2065. "But increased traffic is projected to cause daily 13-mile backups by 2040 unless a new span is built." The bridge currently carries about 70,000 vehicles a day. That total is expected to grow to 92,000 by 2040. The Bay Bridge "carries U.S. 50 and 301 from Anne Arundel County on the Western Shore across the Chesapeake to Queen Anne's County on the Eastern Shore," according to Cox.

The Hogan Administration has taken congestion relief considerations further than previous politicians by commissioning this study, and Governor Hogan has shown support for highway projects in the past, while also refusing to fund the now defunct $2.9 billion Baltimore Red Line light rail project.