For many of us, the Bay Bridge is simply the most convenient route to the beach, a familiar path we’ve traveled countless times en route to Ocean City and other nearby coastal destinations. Recently, however, we stumbled upon several articles and videos claiming that it’s regarded as the ‘Scariest Bridge in America’ (Inside Edition video available below).
According to the MDTA, the Bay Bridge crosses the Chesapeake Bay along US 50/301. Its dual spans provide 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 four miles, the spans are among the world’s longest and most scenic over-water structures.
The original span opened in July 1952 and provides a two-lane roadway for eastbound traffic. The parallel structure opened in June 1973 and has three lanes for westbound travelers. During periods of heavy eastbound traffic, one lane of the westbound bridge is reversed to carry eastbound travelers (“two-way” traffic operations).
An old episode of Inside Edition referred to the bridge as the “Scariest in America” referencing its height (nearly 200 feet in spots) and its length (4.3 miles from end to end). Drivers who suffered panic attacks while attempting to drive across the bridge shared their stories in interviews. There’s even a service that offers to drive cars across the bridge for those who are unable to overcome their fear.
The United Kingdom’s Sky News tackled the topic in a more recent article, referencing the nearby Key Bridge collapse and referring to the Bay Bridge as a “sitting duck.” Per the article, “A tiny wooden buffer, broken in places, clads [aging] concrete from which corroding metal work supports the road high above. If a ship was to hit one of these pylons, the impact point would be high up, given the height of modern cargo vessels.”
Just last month, The Maryland Transportation Authority recommended knocking down both the eastbound and westbound spans of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and replacing them with new, potentially wider, spans. The Washington Post reports “The recommendation comes as the state continues to study alternatives to the current aging bridge spans, which have become increasingly strained by the level of traffic across the bay, particularly during summer months when they are heavily traveled by beachgoers. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced the project in 2016. If approved, the replacement bridge spans would be built near the existing ones, according to a Transportation Authority news release.“