STEVENSVILLE, Md. — A new way for beach-goers to drive across the Chesapeake Bay can’t come soon enough for the people of Kent Island.
“Every weekend is pretty bad,” Lisa Wechtenhiser, who runs a 25,000-member Facebook page called Chesapeake Bay Bridge Traffic, said. “It’s gotten so much worse in the last five years.
Wechtenhiser says the problem is with Waze and other apps directing drivers to side streets and access roads to try and bypass traffic. She calls it gridlock.
"I would love to see another span somewhere because it would really take the heat off this area," Wechtenhiser said."I hope at some point they decide to do that since it is a big deal."
The four-mile suspension bridge between Annapolis and Stevensville was completed in 1973 and has been in the same configuration ever since. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced a study to look into building a new bay crossing, but that was in 2016. A $5 million study has produced few results -- only a leaked map of possible 14 possible crossings, from Aberdeen to Cambridge.
State officials tell WUSA9 that Bay Crossing Study open houses will be announced soon, but dates haven't been finalized.
"Even if it’s 10 years down the road, at least people would know at some point it’s happening," Wechtenhiser said.
Maryland Transportation Authority officials are urging drivers to stay on Route 50 this holiday weekend. They said to off-peak when heading to and from the Eastern Shore.
MDTA said the best times to travel the Bay Bridge this week include are Friday before 7 a.m. and after 7 p.m., Saturday before 7 a.m. and after 5 p.m., and Sunday before 10 a.m. and after 10 p.m.