STEVENSVILLE, Md.- If driving alongside oncoming traffic on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge makes you nervous, you are not alone.
"I never go the two-way traffic, it's scary," said Meg Rekstis of Centreville.
"It's a little nerve racking, you really have to focus," said Lee Franklin of Stevensville.
To improve safety on the bridge, the Maryland Transportation Authority will use rumble strips and a painted buffer between lanes. However, some bridge commuters say they want to see a new span built.
"I really think there should be an effort to build a new bridge somewhere to take some of the traffic off this one," Franklin said.
"A third span would be nice. I think that would greatly help the traffic in the summertime," said Donyelle Molock of Baltimore.
The MdTa said that at this time there is no plan for a new span, noting that the rumble strips and painted buffer are the best option for addressing two-way traffic concerns.
Rekstis, on the other hand, does not see rumble strips and a painted buffer helping the speeding issue.
"The only way they are going to make it safer is it people slow down and I am not sure the rumble strips are going to make them slow down," Rekstis said.
But some disagree.
"It will probably slow people down, I think, and that was their thought of doing this making it safer and slowing people down on the bridge," Molock said.
According to the MdTA, the buffer will serve as a clear indication to drivers that lane changes are not authorized and the rumble strips will serve as a warning to motorists who get too close to exiting their lane.
Work to install these safety measures will be done in spring.
