Traffic flowed smoothly Sunday in both directions on the Bay Bridge, but that could change today as Eastern Shore vacationers head home at the end of Labor Day weekend.
With repairs ongoing on the right lane of the bridge’s eastbound span, the Maryland Transportation Authority suggests motorists travel the bridge “before 11 a.m. or after 10 p.m.” today to avoid westbound delays.
For most of the weekend, one of the westbound span’s three lanes was open for eastbound traffic, allowing two eastbound and two westbound lanes on the bridge.
If significant traffic backup occurs westbound today, the MdTA will open all three westbound lanes for westbound motorists, MdTA spokeswoman Gail Moran said Sunday.
The MdTA waived toll fees Friday to alleviate heavy traffic backups, Moran said.
“We are prepared to waive tolls [today] if there are significant backups, but we’ll only do that this weekend,” Moran said.
When commuters head back to work Tuesday morning, the MdTA plans to open all three westbound lanes for westbound traffic during rush hour, leaving one lane open for eastbound traffic. At 9 a.m. Tuesday to Friday, the MdTA plans to open one westbound land for eastbound traffic.
At Ocean City on Sunday, the beach was packed, and most hotels along Baltimore Avenue had “No Vacancy” signs, said Donna Abbott, spokeswoman for the Ocean City Tourism Department.
“I’m sure [the Bay Bridge repairs had] some impact, but we won’t know numbers for sure until Tuesday,” Abbott said. “We had 277,000 visitors for Labor Day last year. If we have 250,000 this year, that would be great.”
Most Ocean City visitors seemed to listen to the MdTA’s suggestion to take alternate routes to the shore or avoid traveling during peak hours, Abbott said.
“I have a friend who’s here from Baltimore and made it over the Bay Bridge without any problems on Saturday,” Abbott said.
The MdTA had no major traffic incidents to report because of the lane closure, Moran said.
The MdTA ordered the Bay Bridge improvements last week after inspectors examined the bridge and found corroded steel encased
in other barriers. The inspections occurred after a fatal crash Aug. 10 in which a tractor-trailer broke through a barrier and plunged into the Bay.
