The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) is preparing to implement a $177 million design-build project to better protect the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from the risk of boat impacts, like the one that led to the fatal collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in 2024.
Also known as William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge, the 4.3-mile parallel suspension bridges built in 1952 and 1973 form a critical connection to Maryland’s Eastern Shore, carrying approximately 61,000 vehicles per day. Although its existing pier protection system meets federal permit requirements, the bridge is one of nearly 70 navigable water crossings identified by the National Transportation Board (NTSB) earlier this year as lacking updated vessel collision vulnerability assessments.
MDTA says the Bay Bridge pier protection improvements will be based on current American Association of State and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) code requirements. The scope of the project, currently under development, calls for the installation of up to 16 dolphins to protect the main piers of the East and West Bridges, which stand alongside an 800-foot-wide shipping channel that provides large ocean-going vessels access to Baltimore Harbor approximately 33 miles to the north. The vertical clearance under the main spans is approximately 186 feet.
The design-build RFP for the enhanced dock protection system will be issued this winter, and the MDTA will require the design-build team to include a licensed heavy marine contractor capable of executing at least 50% of the contract value. Selection and notice to proceed will take place later in 2026, and construction on the two-year project is tentatively scheduled to begin the following spring.
The project may include a project work contract, pending final agency determination. Among the design considerations for the project is a proposed third crossing for the corridor, which is currently in the NEPA Level 2 study phase. MDTA anticipates that a final environmental impact statement will be issued in the fall of 2026, followed by procurement for the final design. Construction could begin in the summer of 2032.
