Chesapeake Bay Bridge (Year Built, Length, and History)

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge was opened on July 30th, 1952 and a second span added in 1973, serving as a vital 4.3-mile link between Baltimore, Washington D.C., Annapolis, and Atlantic coastal cities.

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Today's Daily Dose short geography film covers the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which connects Maryland's western and eastern shores of the Upper Chesapeake. The filmmaker has included the original voice over script to further assist your understanding:

Today on The Daily Dose, The Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Hotly debated following early proposals in the 1940s, construction of the first span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge or simply the Bay Bridge to locals, was delayed by American involvement in the Second World War, finally breaking ground in January of 1949, until its inaugural opening to motor traffic on July 30th, 1952. Before the official opening, a parade of flag-waving vehicles made a ceremonial first crossing, led by then Governor Theodore Roosevelt McKeldin and other state officials. On November 9th, 1967, the bridge was renamed the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge, in honor of Maryland’s state governor who had pushed funding for the bridge through the state legislature.

After a second span was added in 1973, the dueling, parallel bridges cross 4.3 miles of open Chesapeake, serving as a vital link between to major metropolitan areas of Baltimore, Washington and Annapolis, allowing automobiles to access the coastal tourist destinations of Ocean City, Maryland, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and other coastal and Eastern Shore attractions. The Bay Bridge is known to be a busy point of traffic congestion during the summer months, although some of the slowdown was eliminated when a drawbridge was removed at Kent Narrows, after the construction and grand opening of the new Kent Narrows Bridge in November of 1990.

Before the first span of the Bay Bridge was completed in 1952, access to the Eastern Shore of Maryland was limited to private vessels and commercial ferries, yet after the Bay Bridge opened, population and construction witnessed the explosive growth of Queen Anne’s County and Ocean City Maryland. An annual 10K run or walk across the bridge has been held on and off since 1975, giving locals and tourists alike the chance for a close encounter with the Bay Bridge and the Chesapeake at large, offering participants a commanding view from 186 feet above the water at its highest point, making the Bay Bridge, an iconic symbol of the Upper Chesapeake.

And there you have it, the Bay Bridge, today on The Daily Dose.