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ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A rehabilitation project on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was completed this week, more than a year ahead of schedule, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced.
The $27 million deck rehabilitation project was slated to last about two years on the west span of the only bridge over the bay connecting Maryland’s eastern and western shores.
It was finished quickly, partly because of the light traffic amid the coronavirus pandemic, the governor said Wednesday in a press release. Hogan had projected earlier this year that construction on the project would wrap up by the summer.
The project began in September 2019 after more than a decade of deferred maintenance resulted in deterioration of the westbound right lane, the governor said.
The lane, which has been closed since then, reopened on Wednesday morning.
“It’s important to celebrate the reopening of the westbound right lane of the Bay Bridge, because for me it represents the spirit, dedication and work ethic that will see our state through any crisis,” Hogan added.
Another part of the project, an implementation of all-electronic tolling, is nearly 70% complete and on-schedule to be finished this summer, said James F. Ports, Jr, the Executive Director of the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Some work remains on the westbound center and left lanes during overnight hours, but officials said “minimal” traffic delays should be expected. In addition to lane fixtures, workers will be replacing overhead signal gantries.
Officials also are making use of light traffic during the pandemic to ramp up installation of an automated gate system along westbound US 50 on the Eastern Shore that will allow crews to easily control two-way traffic at the bridge.
