Comment Period Open For Proposed Bay Bridge 3rd Span Location

MARYLAND — Residents have until Monday to file their opinion during the comment period for the tier 1 draft environmental impact statement for the ongoing Chesapeake Bay crossing study. Comments can be emailed and mailed.

The Maryland Transportation Authority held several public hearings in April about the potential location. The debate over whether to add another span to the Bay Bridge has been years in the making.

The Maryland Transportation Authority, which operates the bridge, recommended a third crossing near the current two spans in Annapolis. This preferred area is known as Corridor 7. Highway officials think constructing a third crossing at this location would relieve the most traffic.

The tier 1 environmental study for the ongoing Chesapeake Bay Crossing study is available for review and comment at baycrossingstudy.com. Comments can be emailed to info@baycrossingstudy.com or sent via mail at Bay Crossing Study, 2310 Broening Highway, Baltimore, MD 21224

The Other Options

The proposal is tentative and other options are still under consideration. Those options are:

• Building no more bridges
• Constructing a crossing from Pasadena to the Eastern Shore (Corridor 6)
• Erecting a span from Mayo to the Eastern shore (Corridor 8)

Under the Pasadena potential, cars would follow Maryland Route 100 until it hits Maryland Route 177. The bridge would jet out near Gibson Island and tie into U.S. Route 301 on the Eastern Shore. With the Mayo possibility, traffic would flow from U.S. Route 50 to Maryland Route 424 and into Maryland Route 214 on the Western Shore. The crossing would start around the mouth of Rhode River near Beverly Triton Nature Park. This would eventually connect with U.S. Route 50 on the Eastern Shore.

Both the Pasadena and Mayo plans would require building new roads on the Eastern Shore to connect to main thoroughfares. Like state highway officials, Gov. Larry Hogan doesn't think either of these pitches is suitable.

Next steps

The release of the DEIS is one step in the Bay Crossing tier 1 study. Additional steps include identifying a selected corridor alternative and publishing a combined final environmental impact statement/record of decision document in collaboration with FHWA, expected to be complete in winter 2021/2022.

After the tier 1 NEPA study is completed and should funding become available, a potential tier 2 study could be initiated. A tier 2 study would examine how to adapt and build roads within the selected corridor. That state may never reach that second period of research, as it has not yet secured funding for the additional study.

A tier 2 NEPA study could take three to five years to:

• identify and evaluate a no-build alternative and various crossing alignments within the two-mile-wide tier 1 selected corridor alternative;
• evaluate how buses, ferries, transportation system management and demand management could be used in conjunction with these crossing alignments;
• review potential environmental impacts;
• determine project delivery methods, such as design-bid-build or design-build, to organize and finance design, construction, operations and maintenance; and
• develop a financial plan that could lead to FHWA ultimately approving one alignment with a tier 2 ROD. The process would need a Tier 2 record of decision before proceeding to final design, right-of-way acquisition and construction if a build alignment alternative is selected.

Read more: New Bay Bridge Crossing Site Proposed By MD Officials