Just days before a busy holiday weekend, Maryland Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari ordered the immediate closing yesterday of one lane of the eastbound Bay Bridge amid concerns about the safety of the concrete barriers that make up the span's walls.
Officials estimated that emergency repairs would force 10 weeks of round-the-clock lane closings, causing serious backups.
The state took action after inspectors - examining the bridge in the aftermath of a fatal Aug. 10 crash in which a tractor-trailer broke through a barrier and plunged into the bay - found corroded steel encased in other barriers.
Officials said they have notified federal authorities in case the same safety problem exists in similar structures around the nation. The eastbound span is the original Bay Bridge, which opened in 1952.
Porcari said the bridge's deck and underpinnings are structurally sound, but officials determined they need to reinforce the concrete barriers with steel plates and extra bolts and to add some metal guard rails.
"We're taking these steps out of an abundance of caution," Porcari said.
Ronald Freeland, executive secretary of the Maryland Transportation Authority, which runs the bridge, urged holiday travelers to take a northern route around the head of the Chesapeake Bay to get to Ocean City and other beach destinations.
The closing will reduce eastbound travel to one lane at off-peak hours and two lanes during the evening rush hours and other times of heavy traffic - potentially causing some of the worst congestion seen since the second, three-lane westbound span opened in 1973.
"This diminished capacity will lead to delays," Freeland said.
The work will be done around the clock and will cost an estimated $3 million, the authority's chief engineer said.
The news was cause for concern among people with plans to travel to the Eastern Shore this weekend and for businesses waiting to serve them.
Pre-wedding getaway
October bride Katie Gasemy of Severn had been looking forward to a pre-wedding weekend with her girlfriends in Ocean City, but yesterday her plans were up in the air. She weighed canceling the festivities, moving them to the Western Shore or heading to the beach by a longer, unfamiliar route.
Still, she took the news philosophically.
"Anything that is going to ensure the safety of others is necessary," she said. "If it means going a roundabout route, safety should be a priority."
