"Original two-lane spans with through-truss suspension bridge and regular cantilever design built 1949-52 and opened 1952; second three-lane span with deck suspension and arched cantilever opened 1973; rehabilitated 1988" [Bridge Hunter Index] The bridge rises 186' above the water. [BayDreaming]
"When the Bay Bridge’s original span opened in July 1952, its 4.3 miles made it the world’s third longest bridge, as well as the world’s longest continuous over-water steel structure. Several superstructure sections of the bridge were built on barges and floated into place." [BayBridge] Once again, ABC (Accelerated Bridge Construction) is not a recent invention.
Like the other Chesapeake Bay crossing, you can hire someone to drive your car across the bridge. In this case, the height adds to the scariness.
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| Boston Public Library Flickr, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) |
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| Boston Public Library Flickr, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted "The Chesapeake Bay Bridge - 1952" by Paul McGehee. Bill Hill: Built by Bethlehem! |
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| Skipjack Heritage, Inc. posted Photo of the Ferry coming into Matapeake from the Eastern Shore at the same time the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was being built. Charles L. Gallion: Matapeake IS on the Eastern shore. Looks like this ferry is coming into the docks on the western shore just south of Sandy Point. |
The original bridge is on the right (South) and the additional bridge is on the left. The third lane on the newer bridge is reversible depending on traffic conditions. For example, people coming home from the beaches on a Sunday evening.
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| Street View, Aug 2019 |
The arch span of the newer bridge. (The pickup was going at the same speed so it is in every view.)
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| Street View, Aug 2019 |
The cantilever span of the original bridge.
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| Street View |
The new bridge has a massive cable-anchor pier at the end of the suspended span as would be expected for a suspension bridge. (Note the two bridge inspection trucks on the left side of this view.)
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| Street View |
I had noticed that the pier at the end of the original suspended span was spindly. Looking closer, that is because additional cables go down to a concrete pier under the first truss span. That struck me as a clever (economical) design, I wonder why the new bridge did not do it that way.
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| Street View |
Because the street view car was driving in the slow lane, I can't get a good view of the concrete pier and cable attachment. This photo shows that the pier for the truss next to the suspended span is solid concrete, as opposed to the pile piers for the other deck trusses, to provide an anchor for the cables.
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| ChesapeakeLiving |
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| Jay Fleming posted Before heading into work this morning I took a walk on the beach to photograph the full moon setting over the bridge. Beautiful morning! Bridges Now and Then shared |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on the above share I see Jay has several more photos of that bridge, https://www.jayflemingphotography.com/shop |
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| OCMD Life posted Bay Bridge sunset from Saturday [Mar 30, 2024]! |
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| Todd Allen commented on the above post Here’s a sunrise from on top of one of the towers. |
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| Rick Crocetti commented on the above post From last year [2023] |
A closeup of the trusses near the suspension bridge.
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| David Sits posted All chained down in the Annapolis anchorage area at sunset… 2/2/2024 That’s where they anchor while they wait their turn at the dock in Baltimore… Mark Woods: They have schedule and if they dock early they have to pay so they wait but that is more than normal. David Sites is that right??? Jim Beirnes: Mark Woods way more than normal. Usually like 5 is max. Paul Kozel shared |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted Building the westbound span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, September, 1972. (MDTA) |
In the Google search results I saw some entries about a third bridge. Now I see a proposal for an 8-lane bridge to replace the existing bridges. [wbaltv] Just skimming some of the articles, the "need" for more capacity is to accommodate beach traffic. I think Federal money should pay for adding more lanes to I-80 through Joliet and replacing the Des Plaines River Bridges before it pays for some people having sun and fun on the beaches.
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| Bridges Now and Then posted Building the westbound span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, May, 1972. . (MDTA) Allan Gilbert: I was supposed to be a deck engineer on a derrick like that, my union said no. |
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| Dan Murphy posted Chesapeake Bay Bridge C Patrick Zilliacus: Looking east. On the right is the original two-lane span, opened in 1952. On the left is the "new" three-lane span, opened 1972. The five lanes are set-up so that all traffic can be moved to one span if needed, running in two-way operation. When there is heavy demand eastbound, one lane of the (normally) westbound span will run eastbound if weather conditions permit - this is generally done on weekday afternoons and on the day before a major beach holiday (Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day) Dan Murphy: Indeed there was 2-way traffic flow on the westbound span on this day. It's a creative operational maneuver in terms of maximizing the capacity of the spans, but it also highlights how antiquated the crossing has become. Bridges Now and Then shared |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted December 23, 1950, Chesapeake Bay Bridge construction is seen from Maryland's Eastern Shore. (R.F. Kniesche/Baltimore Sun Staff File Photos) |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted, cropped Lifting a section of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge into place during construction, August 15, 1952. (Janet Eilber/Baltimore Sun) [So ABC (Accelerated Bridge Construction) is not nearly as new as some engineering firms like to think.] |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted A look at Chesapeake Bay Bridge construction on July 30, 1952. (Baltimore Sun Staff File Photos) |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted Chesapeake Bay Bridge construction, August 1, 1952. (Janet Eilber/Baltimore Sun) |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted, cropped Here's a look at construction on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, June 4, 1952. (A. Aubrey Bodine/Baltimore Sun) |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted, cropped Checking the alignment of pier forms before pouring concrete on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, December 31, 1950. (A. Aubrey Bodine/Baltimore Sun) |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted, cropped The Chesapeake Bay Bridge nears completion in March,1952. |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted November 22, 1978: A never ending job: A paint crew member straddles a steel I-beam underneath the old Chesapeake Bay Bridge in his constant task of painting the 4.5-mile structure. It takes five years and 30,000 gallons of silvery aluminum paint to cover the bridge from one end to the other. When that is accomplished, it’s time to start all over again. Dave Frieder: Bridges are NEVER painted from end to end continuously. A bridge would be fully painted but even with today's modern non lead based paints they are only touched up over the years. After 15-20 years THEN they are full painted again. |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted Floating in a section of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge during construction, August 15, 1951 (Janet Eilber Baltimore Sun) |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted Construction on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, c. 1951. |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted Cars on the ferry get a nice view of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge being built, May 29, 1951. (Baltimore Sun) |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted An August, 1951, look at progress on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, photo by Robert Kniesche. James Torgeson: The ferry slips are in the lower right! Tee Gerardi: And appears to be a ferry boat approaching the slip !!! |
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| Historic Baltimore posted The second Bay Bridge Span under construction. (1971) |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted, cropped People enjoying a frozen Chesapeake Bay with the Chesapeake Bay Bridges in the background. Photo by Bob Disharoon, 1977. |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted Electrician Nicholas C. Guerieri works on the main east tower pier 26 during construction of the first Chesapeake Bay Bridge in 1952. (Hans Marx/Baltimore Sun) |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted July 5, 1950, Chesapeake Bay Bridge construction looking west. (R.F. Kniesche, Baltimore Sun File Photos) [A ferry is in a dock.] |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted An undated photo of the original span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, opened in 1952. |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted The Chesapeake Bay Bridge - 1952. (Paul McGehee) |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted Chesapeake Bay Bridge construction, August 1, 1952. (Janet Eilber/Baltimore Sun Staff Photo) |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted, cropped High above Chesapeake Bay, Fil Horton inspects cables during construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, April 6, 1952. (Hans Marx) |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted The Chesapeake Bay Bridge during construction, May 10, 1952. (Baltimore Sun Staff File Photos) [In this view we can see the cables going down to the base of the truss pier.] |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted E.R. Davis, Sr., is seen here during construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, April 6, 1952. (Hans Marx/Baltimore Sun Staff File Photo) Dave Frieder: Diagonal of the stiffening Truss. |
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