History [Explore the Bridge]

A Bridge to Cross the Chesapeake. . .

Marylanders originally had to rely on boats to cross the Chesapeake Bay to and from the Eastern Shore. But as the population grew and automobiles became a more popular means of transportation, people began to call for a bridge that would cross the Chesapeake. The first plan for such a bridge was developed in 1927, but was quickly forgotten with the 1929 onset of the Great Depression. In 1938, under mounting pressure, the state legislature authorized a roadway crossing the Bay, but this time World War II postponed the effort. In 1947, under the leadership of Governor William Preston Lane, Jr., the Maryland General Assembly directed the State Roads Commission to build a bridge across the Bay, and the first shovelful of earth was finally turned in January 1949.

The bridge’s two-lane original span (which today carries eastbound traffic) cost $45 million and was, at the time, the world’s longest continuous over-water steel structure—an amazing engineering triumph. It opened to traffic at 6 p.m. on July 30, 1952 – at the same moment that the Kent Island-Sandy Point Bay ferry began its very last run. It was the end – and the beginning – of an era. Construction of the bridge’s $148-million second span, which currently carries westbound traffic across the Bay, began in 1969 and was completed on June 28, 1973. J.E. Greiner Company, Inc. designed both bridge spans, and numerous companies contributed to the bridge’s construction.

MORE INFORMATION:

• Download Facility Fact Sheet
• View images of the Bay Bridge
• The Bay Bridge Walk
• Bridge preservation efforts
• Bay Bridge Fact Sheet (PDF/3.07MB).