Bay Bridge could face 'perfect storm' scenario
Sun photo/Michael Dresser
Not to be too alarmist, but if you're heading for Ocean City, the Delaware beaches or the Eastern Shore this holiday weekend there are compelling reasons to avoid the Bay Bridge at Friday's peak evening traffic.
First, traffic is expected to be heavy. AAA Mid-Atlantic is projecting a "robust" travel weekend this Memorial Day, with an expected 6.8 percent increase in the number of Marylanders traveling by automobile.
Second, bookings are up in Ocean City, where city officials are expecting brisk business.
Next, the weather Saturday through Monday is expected to be lovely -- likely enticing spur-of-the-moment visitors who want to grab 2-3 days of sun.
But Friday night could be miserable, with thunderstorms by day followed by showers at night, according to the National Weather Service. And that's bad news for anyone crossing the Bay Bridge.
Here's the problem: Normally, on a Friday afternoon and evening in vacation season, the Maryland Transportation Authority will turn over an extra lane to eastbound travelers to relieve congestion. It does this by opening the westbound span to two-way traffic, using one of the three lanes for eastbound vehicles.
But not in heavy rain or wind, according to authority spokeswoman Kelly Melhem. The reason: safety.
"If there is any chance of severe weather, that would prevent us from going into two-way operations," Melhem said.
Were that to happen, a heavy volume of eastbound vacation-goers could be joining the normal contingent of Eastern Shore commuters to converge on the two eastbound lanes of the original bridge at about the same time. It doesn't take a traffic engineer to figure out what that means.
So if you would avoid one of the Bay Bridge's epic backups, you might want to look for an alternate strategy. The authority recommends traveling before noon Friday -- a great idea if you can get off work. Leaving in early afternoon could avoid the worst of the mess, though holiday travel conditions tend to get heavy by midafternoon on getaway day. Alternately, the authority suggests that you can avoid the worst by getting on the road after 10 p.m.
The authority has one strategy it could trot out if conditions get too bad Friday night. Melhem said that on rare occasions it will cut westbound travel down to one lane and close the center lane of the westbound span as a buffer between it and the third westbound lane. But she said the authority will only employ that after westbound traffic has dropped to volumes where it won't back up onto Kent Island -- probably after 8 p.m. She said that strategy would not be employed if the rain is heavy.
Leaving Thursday night would normally be a good option, but the weather service is predicting thunderstorms that evening. The authority is recommending traveling that day before 2 p.m.
So if none of the recommended Bay Bridge options are appealing, Baltimore-area residents might want to consider bypassing the bridge and taking the northern route around Elkton. (Washingtonians and Annapolitans are pretty much stuck with the bridge.)
The Getting There route to the beaches: Interstate 95 to the North East (Md.) exit, exit on Route 272 and keep right toward U.S. 40, take left onto 40 and continue into Delaware, take right on Wrangle Hill Road to Delaware 1 (parts toll) heading south. From there, the route depends on your destination. (Delaware 1 will get you to the Delaware beaches and U.S. 113 to Ocean City. DE 387 for north O.C. and Fenwick island/MD 90 for central O.C./U.S. 50 for downtown.)
This route avoids possible backups for the Delaware Toll Plaza. No guarantees there won't be congestion on DE 1 for those without E-ZPass, but it's unlikely to be anywhere near as the bridge in bad weather.
Comments
Of course, adding to the Friday afternoon congestion on eastbound Rt. 50, the Naval Academy will conclude its Commissioning Week exercises with Graduation, featuring Vice President Joe Biden. Traffic exiting the vicinity of the Naval Academy Stadium will likely greet early to mid-afternoon motorists.
Posted by: Joe Gutberlet | May 27, 2010 6:56 AM
Hmm, so traffic tonight is expected to be ugly too? I'm heading out from Baltimore City proper to Dewey right around 6:00 or so. I'm trying to decide if I should go North or South. Any input from the peanut gallery?
COMMENT: Some past Getting There columns have dealt with the ""tipping point" where it's better to go north. Generally, if you anticipate a half hour backup on the bridge, someone staring in Baltimore city will do better going via Cecil County to the Delaware beaches.
Posted by: kateebee | May 27, 2010 10:12 AM
There's really no need for the MTA to have 2-way traffic on the 3 lanes bridge. If they had any common sense, they should use the 2 lanes bridge for westbound and the 3 lanes bridge for eastbound and reverse direction come Monday. This should be the safest way for traveling across the Bay Bridge.
COMMENT: Is this physically possible? Can you really cross over 3 lanes of eastbound traffic to the westbound bridge and 2 lanes of westbound traffic to the eastbound? If this was easy, I'd suspect the MdTA would have already done it. But I'll ask.--MTD
Posted by: Mark | May 27, 2010 10:19 AM
Mark - Putting all of the eastbound traffic on the 3 lane bridge and all west bound traffic on the 2 lane bridge would require that the east and westbound traffic flows cross one another on both the eastern and western shores. This is not physically possible unless there were sky ramps on both shores to transfer one flow of traffic over the other. Without such ramps there would be accidents and gridlock galore.
Give MdTA some credit. They are not stupid people.
Posted by: Tim | May 27, 2010 11:47 AM
The inadequate number of lanes on this crossing is a huge drag on the economy and a massive inconvenience to the people of Maryland. We need a new span. Just looking at that old thing is terrifying.
COMMENT: The last time a new span was looked at, none of the options looked palatable to the public. The cost would be billions and the environmental impacts enormous. You could be looking at a controversy that would outlive most of us. The ICC, by contrast, looks simple. That only took 50 years.
Posted by: Eric F. | May 27, 2010 12:59 PM
"Give MdTA some credit. They are not stupid people" Really? They already know that traffic is going to be bad. But their plan calls to trade a small west bound backup far large east boud backup. That is what I call stupid.
Posted by: Dave | May 27, 2010 1:12 PM
For those of you traveling the Rt 50 to 404 route- can you take these directions to heart and stop to pay your respects to the veterans in this cemetery? They are the reason we get to celebrate this weekend and why we are still here to do so. Don't forget them. Thanks,
Head southeast on MD-404 E/Queen Anne Hwy toward Always Inn Ln 1.0 mi
2. Turn right at US-50 E/Ocean Gateway 11.5 mi
3. Turn left at MD-331 S/Dover Rd
Continue to follow MD-331 S 11.5 mi
4. Slight right at MD-16 W/MD-331 S/E New Market Ellwood Rd
Destination will be on the left 1.8 mi
Veterans Cemetery
6827 East New Market Ellwood RoadHurlock, MD 21643-3343
(410) 943-3420
Posted by: kathy | May 28, 2010 3:36 AM
Try the northern Rt but take 213 South at Elkton/Rt 40. Drive about an hour through Centreville, MD- over the over pass ( 213 S. over 301 N.) Turn on Star Road Rt 309. Stay on this road for abotu 8 miles until you get to the 404 turn. This will cut out all the terrible traffic on 404 for 80% of the drive. Once on 404 follow the signs. Stay safe- use your seatbelts and your good sense and don't text or talk while driving. Have a good weekend!
Posted by: kathy | May 28, 2010 4:04 AM
Chestertown has its Teaparty Celebration, where the town swells from 5,000 to 15,000 for about two days - Fri through Sat night. I am on the edge of town and don't even try to drive.
I'd think twice about the 213 south option
Posted by: james | May 28, 2010 10:17 PM