The Maryland Transportation Authority will not open the westbound span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to two-way traffic today and motorists heading to the Eastern Shore should expect delays.
According to an alert issued by MdTA this afternoon, the steel plates installed yesterday on the westbound span make it unsafe for two-way traffic.
“We noticed that when some vehicles traveled over the plates were experiencing a bouncing effect,” said Kelly Melhem, spokeswoman for MdTA. “We didn?t want to have counter-flow traffic with that bouncing effect.”
Instead of three lanes heading towards the Eastern Shore, there will only be the two lanes on the eastbound span.
MdTA said delays are likely during the evening rush hour.
The plates were installed to cover where finger joints were removed as the first step in the bridge deck replacement project.
“It wasn?t something we really could have foreseen,” Melhem said. “Overnight, we?ll be removing the steel plates and replacing the joints. That will give us time to work on the issue and make sure it doesn?t happen again.” Melhem said the problem would be resolve prior to Friday night?s commute.
To find about delays and the traffic situation at the Bay Bridge, call 1-877-BAYSPAN or logon to the bridge’s official Web site.
