1977 Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge over Patuxent River at Solomons, MD

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

This 7,207' (2,197m) long bridge ha a main span of 451' (137m). [BridgeHunter]

Street View, Jul 2025

somdnews, file photo
"Expected to carry 1,400 vehicles a day when it opened, it now is traveled by some 30,000 a day." It has a clearance of 135' (41m).

hmdb

Peter Moreno, May 2021

somdkap, this webpage has several more photos of the bridge.

Rick Benchoff posted
Gov. Thomas Johnson Memorial Bridge, Solomons, Maryland

Doug O'Leary: They couldn’t keep that old historic cantilever truss bridge 🙁

Shawn Stanley: Doug O'Leary Sorry to say, that never existed. I was sailing with my Dad on the Patuxent River in the mid 1970's when this bridge was built. Maybe you are confusing it for some other bridge. I also worked at the boat ramp as a teenager where this picture was taken. This is a relatively recent shot that Rick Benhoff has posted, as the 3rd clearance light for airplanes is missing, and the solar panel on the mid-clearance light is readily apparent powering the weather station on top of the center pole.

Another interesting fact about this bridge is the concrete pillers were cracking in the late 80's (when I was working the boat ramp) and the bridge was closed for several months for repairs. At the very top right of the author's pic you can see brown 'clamps' which hold the pillers together to this day. I watched this all happen first hand in 1988, and there was a people only ferry service running from the (now) fishing pier to the right over to a similar pier out of view in middle frame in adjacent St. Mary's County.

(post edited for clarity and spelling errors)

They needed to repair the concrete piers just a decade after it was opened.

2019 photo by Timothy and Joann Phillips via BridgeHunter

2019 photo by Timothy and Joann Phillips via BridgeHunter

Peter Moreno posted three photos with the comment:

The Governor Thomas Johnson Memorial Bridge (also referred to as the Thomas Johnson Bridge and the Solomons Bridge) is a 1.37-mile (2.20 km) bridge in Maryland over the lower Patuxent River joining Calvert and St. Mary's counties.

Pretty high in my opinion and can be a little nerve wracking to cross but thankfully it's not too long.

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Rick Benchoff commented on Peter's post

Rick Benchoff commented on Peter's post

Dan Murphy posted 22 photos with the comment:

Gov. Thomas Johnson Bridge (Solomons, MD)

Located at the mouth of  the Patuxent River in southern Maryland, the Thomas Johnson Bridge (named for Maryland's first non-colonial Governor) has lived a relatively short yet troubled life. It had only been open for 11 years when it had to be shut down in 1988 due to extensive structural problems that necessitated emergency repairs to as many as two dozen of its piers. The root of the problem appears to have been a fundamentally flawed design and the additional steel reinforcing that was added near the tops of the piers are quite visible to this day. This fundamental issue, plus the large increase in traffic across it (well in excess of its design capacity) have made Maryland officials consider replacing this bridge in the not so distant future.

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I've passed up several comments about how scary high it is. I wonder if the narrow two-lane deck makes it seem higher than a 4-lane bridge with decent shoulders.

Street View, Jul 2025