Chesapeake Bay Bridge

It's the bump in the road to paradise, the bottleneck between you and the beach. Before you get to the ocean, you have to get over the Bay Bridge. Before you can get to the Bay Bridge you have to get past someone like Arlene Roberts. She is in one of the toll booths, waiting to take your $2.50 if only you can get through the inevitable Route 50 crush of too many cars, engines and occupants overheating. Roberts, by contrast, is the happiest person for miles around. "I like working the summers because when the traffic backs up, I get a rush," she says, eyes glinting rather devilishly, hands miming how quickly she can take your money and give back change.

Imagine running a 10-kilometer race more than 185 feet in the air, looking down and seeing the Chesapeake Bay. For those who've sat in traffic for what seemed like hours trying to get from one side of the Bay Bridge to the other - and even for those who haven't - Sparrow Rogers and Peter Paris want you to have another kind of experience on the 4.3-mile span. The Queen Anne's County commissioners recently approved use of the bridge for the inaugural Chesapeake Bay Bridge Run, and the event is expected to gain the support of the Department of Natural Resources for use of the parking lots at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, where the race is scheduled to begin.

1950: Friendship Airport (later BWI) opens 1950: Theodore R. McKeldin elected governor 1954: Chesapeake Bay Bridge opens

High winds are forecast across the region Saturday with a gale warning in effect on the Chesapeake Bay until noon, according to the National Weather Service. A gale warning means winds of 34 to 47 knots (39 to 54 mph) are expected. Forecasters say that could mean dangerous conditions for anyone venturing out onto the bay, especially in smaller boats. Even after the gale subsides, condtions will remain treacherous for inexperienced sailors, according to the Weather Service. In response to conditions, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is operating under a wind warning, with the Maryland Transportation Authority urging drivers to use caution while crossing.

High winds are forecast across the region Saturday with a gale warning in effect on the Chesapeake Bay until noon, according to the National Weather Service. A gale warning means winds of 34 to 47 knots (39 to 54 mph) are expected. Forecasters say that could mean dangerous conditions for anyone venturing out onto the bay, especially in smaller boats. Even after the gale subsides, condtions will remain treacherous for inexperienced sailors, according to the Weather Service. In response to conditions, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is operating under a wind warning, with the Maryland Transportation Authority urging drivers to use caution while crossing.

ANNAPOLIS -- Dan Daniels could think of better things to do yesterday than walking 4.3 miles across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. But his last-minute excuse failed him."He called the 800 number for the weather, hoping they'd say it would rain," said his wife, Coralie, as they limbered up for the 18th annual Bay Bridge Walk.The Danielses were among the record 70,000 people who took advantage of a once-a-year chance to stroll across Chesapeake Bay, said Thomas E. Freburger, a spokesman for the Maryland Transportation Authority.

ANNAPOLIS -- Dan Daniels could think of better things to do yesterday than walking 4.3 miles across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. But his last-minute excuse failed him."He called the 800 number for the weather, hoping they'd say it would rain," said his wife, Coralie, as they limbered up for the 18th annual Bay Bridge Walk.The Danielses were among the record 70,000 people who took advantage of a once-a-year chance to stroll across the Chesapeake Bay, said Thomas E. Freburger, a spokesman for the Maryland Transportation Authority.

Organizers of the 20th annual Chesapeake Bay Bridge walk, which begins at 8:45 a.m. Sunday, promise this year's participants a shorter wait for buses shuttling between the bridge and parking areas.Many walkers complained last year about having to wait up to 90 minutes for shuttles to their cars. The waits occurred after the walkers had finished the 4.5-mile hike and been dropped off at the Bayfest celebration at Sandy Point State Park.The sight of frustrated walkers queued up for buses in Sandy Point's steamy parking lots was one reason the state Department of Natural Resources canceled Bayfest this year, said DNR spokesman Mike O'Brien.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Swim Race may be going under.Race director Fletcher Hanks' application to stage the 4.4-mile swim for the ninth straight year has been denied by the U.S. Coast Guard.The denial came in a letter from Stephen Phillips, boating affairs branch chief of the Fifth Coast Guard District in Portsmouth, Va. Phillips cited "high risk factors" that "render the event unsafe."An abnormally strong current in the shipping channel under the bridge during the race last June led to a massive rescue operation in which 720 of the 884 starters were pulled from the water.

About 665,000 Marylanders are expected to join the nearly 41 million Americans who will travel more than 50 miles from their homes this extended July 4 holiday weekend. And according to AAA, four-fifths of these people will choose to head out to their destinations by automobile. That means that about 10 percent of the entire U.S. population may collectively experience firsthand the modern-day algorithm that while the distance between Point A and Point B may be the shortest, it's not always the fastest.

It's the bump in the road to paradise, the bottleneck between you and the beach. Before you get to the ocean, you have to get over the Bay Bridge. Before you can get to the Bay Bridge you have to get past someone like Arlene Roberts. She is in one of the toll booths, waiting to take your $2.50 if only you can get through the inevitable Route 50 crush of too many cars, engines and occupants overheating. Roberts, by contrast, is the happiest person for miles around. "I like working the summers because when the traffic backs up, I get a rush," she says, eyes glinting rather devilishly, hands miming how quickly she can take your money and give back change.

About 665,000 Marylanders are expected to join the nearly 41 million Americans who will travel more than 50 miles from their homes this extended July 4 holiday weekend. And according to AAA, four-fifths of these people will choose to head out to their destinations by automobile. That means that about 10 percent of the entire U.S. population may collectively experience firsthand the modern-day algorithm that while the distance between Point A and Point B may be the shortest, it's not always the fastest.

CAPE CHARLES, Va. -- Robert Wooster Jr. hauls lumber from North Carolina to Salisbury, so he's driven the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel dozens of times. He's seen the sea gulls perched on the bridge lampposts, the ships heading to sea and the way the blue-green water shimmers in the late afternoon sun. But he had never stopped, until one day last month. What took so long? "We're 68 feet long, so there's nowhere for us to stop," says Wooster, 31. His 7-year-old son Robbie helpfully adds, "That's with truck and trailer."

Raising tolls long overdue for Maryland I was pleased to read about the increase in tolls on some Maryland facilities ("Cost of using Key Bridge, tunnels to double beginning Saturday," Nov. 11). They are long overdue to fund much-needed transportation projects. Delaware, for example, charges almost $6 in tolls for approximately 20 miles of toll road and crossing to and then over the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Delaware, to its credit, also gives discounts for those who use EZ Pass, which lessens the need for expensive toll personnel and improves traffic flow.

Earlier this week, state transportation officials said they were considering activating a high-speed ferry route that would carry both passengers and vehicles from Southern Maryland across the Chesapeake Bay to the Lower Eastern Shore. With the opening of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in 1952, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in the 1960s, passenger and vehicular car ferries vanished from the bay. Currently, the only passenger ferries plying the bay are those that call at Smith Island and Tangier Island, Va. There were ferry boats on the bay as long ago as the 17th century, with one of the oldest and most heavily traveled routes being that from Rock Hall to Annapolis, 25 miles that in good weather could take two hours.

1950: Friendship Airport (later BWI) opens 1950: Theodore R. McKeldin elected governor 1954: Chesapeake Bay Bridge opens

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge had been opened only four months when, in September of 1952, a Baltimore engineer became the first person to commit suicide from the bridge by jumping off the towering span.Although no exact figures are available, more than 75 people have followed his example in the last four decades -- including three men in the past two months. The recent rash of suicides has prompted the Maryland Transportation Authority, which oversees the bridge's operations, to consider whether anything can be done to prevent people from jumping to their deaths.

Relax. Sit back. Take your time reading this story.If you're like a lot of workers, you've got plenty of time.It's a summertime Friday, a day that nudges a little closer to its weekend party pals and away from those other stodgy weekdays.The evidence is everywhere. Eastbound traffic on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge ticks up on Thursday. The next day, Friday, trading on Wall Street tends to tick down. The roads open up. Workplace garages offer plenty of empty spaces. Golf courses are booked solid.