Plans are now underway to construct a set of new spans to cross the Chesapeake Bay. Delmarva Public Media's Kevin Diaz reports the expansion could have a major impact on the Eastern Shore.
RUSH: Being stuck in traffic on the Bay Bridge is not an unusual site for those on the Eastern Shore. Now there are plans to make spans bigger, better, and broader, but not everyone is happy. Delmarva Public Media's Kevin Diaz has this report.
Chair Semantha BIDDLE: Next up this morning, we have an approval item for the Chesapeake Bay crossing tier two NEPA-recommended preferred alternative approval.
DIAZ: And with that, the eight member Maryland Transportation Authority voted unanimously on December 18th to advance the plan to replace the aging Chesapeake Bay Bridges; both of them. The plan is still at least a year away from final approval, and it could be years before the state can bank the estimated $15 to $18 billion price tag. But now, there's a specific plan and it's ready for official public comment. After years of study and discussion. That's a milestone for a project that could transform the entire Eastern Shore landscape in ways just as fundamental as the original spans, which were built in 1952 and 1973.
GARTNER: It's been an incredibly successful development to get to this point with all the evaluations that the team has done.
DIAZ: That's Bruce Gartner, Executive Director of the Transportation Authority.
GARTNER: This is a kickoff of really needing to get citizen input.
DIAZ: It's not the finish line, at least it's in sight within the next decade. Here was board member William Cox.
COX: Now getting this started and to the finish line has just been commendable
DIAZ: For frequent Bay Bridge travelers, the focus might be on going from five lanes of traffic to eight; four in each direction. But according to board member John von Paris, the implications are even greater than that.
VON PARIS: Oftentimes we think of congestion and that's it, but there's so much more, and safety obviously is important.
DIAZ: Then there's the economy and the landscape around the bridges.
VON PARIS: It's an economic issue and it helps the Port of Baltimore, and it fits with our overall plan as we build a new bridge here now, but also the local economy on the Eastern Shore.
DIAZ: Of course, an influx of cars, people, and houses - the legacy of the first two bridges - could have its downside too. The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy put out a statement warning about a major spike in development and called for new land use and zoning laws as part of any new bridge project. But the board has decided to accentuate the positive, keeping alive, the prospect of a dedicated transit wave and a shared bike and pedestrian path connecting the two shores. Here's board member Samuel Snead:
SNEAD: The transit subsidy included here. It is really a legacy level impact and a shift to more multimodal pieces, and of course, the multimodal path. Optional consideration is another big piece that I think is a legacy level of potential impact.
DIAZ: The plan, called Alternative C, would also rise up 230 feet in the air, opening the Port of Baltimore to bigger, more modern cargo and passenger ships.
PENNY-ARDINGER: I would like to recognize one of the benefits of this is to the port, and I think that is a huge factor because it really looks to the future of Maryland and the growth that we can see in Maryland.
DIAZ: That from board member Cynthia Penny-Ardinger, the reconstruction of the Key Bridge in Baltimore has held a lot of the public's attention until now, but with the prospect of two new spans over the Chesapeake Bay, the Eastern Shore, and Maryland could be writing a new chapter. Here's Mario Gangemi.
GANGEMI: I will tell you that there was a lot, I couldn't believe how many phone calls and texts and people stopping in the hallway asking me about the Bay Bridge boat, so people are actually watching this one, maybe more so than the Key Bridge.
DIAZ: This is Kevin Diaz for Delmarva Public Media.
