Major Bay Bridge delays coming in the fall

Westbound lane to close except for summer traffic

Can you say bridge backup?

Chesapeake Bay commuters who cross the Bay Bridge will be have to deal with construction backups for nearly two years starting this fall as work begins on replacing a lane of the westbound span.

After Labor Day, work to replace the right lane of the westbound span of the Bay Bridge will close that lane and create potential daily rush hour traffic backups, the Maryland Transportation Authority announced this week.

The $27 million project will replace the bridge decking, make deck repairs, seal the bridge deck and replace existing lane-use signal gantries and the steel rail posts on the side of the bridge.

The traffic impact will be substantial. While the work will cease from May 20 through Labor Day next year, the rest of the year will see only two westbound lanes and no two-way traffic on that span except in emergencies.

“Even though traffic volumes are lowest at the bridge during these months, drivers should expect major delays, even during normal conditions, and especially during holidays, traffic incidents and inclement weather,” Maryland Transportation Authority Executive Director Jim Ports said in a statement.

The authority asked for patience and understanding, “and to bear with us” while the work continues. It says three-mile backups are possible during rush hours.

The work is expected to be completed by August 2021.

“This is not emergency work,” said Kelly Melhelm, the agency’s director of communications. She explained the work had been in the design and funding pipeline for a few years and is part of the Comprehensive Transportation Program 2019-2024.

“The lane surface has just reached the end of its useful life,” she added.

Here’s the closing schedule:

Beginning after Labor Day and through September, the right lane of the westbound span will be closed after rush hour Monday morning and remain closed through 6 a.m. Friday. The lane will open on weekends in September.

On Oct. 1 the lane will close and remain closed through April 16 of next year. It will open for the Thanksgiving weekend.

From April 16 through May 20, it will close during the work week and open on weekends. On May 20, all westbound lanes will be opened for the summer season.

In the fall of 2020, the lane will close Monday mornings through Friday mornings after Labor Day through September.

On Oct. 1, 2020, the lane will again be closed 24/7 through April 16, 2021.

The agency will then repeat the weekday closure, weekend open schedule until summer beach season, when all lanes will be open.

During construction closures the land will be blocked off by a jersey wall. “That will reduce lane width on the other two lanes to 11 feet,” Melhelm added.

Wagman Heavy Civil Inc., of York, Pennsylvania., is performing the work.