FAIRLEE, Md. - Miles of Chesapeake Bay waters divide quiet Fairlee Farm from the sprawl of Baltimore City.
A divide that could be no more, the Maryland Transportation Authority is looking to connect Maryland's eastern and western shores.
Neighbors in Kent County like Janet Christensen-Lewis say it's a project not welcome.
"A bridge coming from Baltimore coming through this county would be devastating," Christensen-Lewis said.
Christensen-Lewis says the views from Fairlee Farm would be lost. That and the ability to call the place "home" along with it, Christensen-Lewis says.
"We don't want this to become a commuter community. There are not people here that want that to happen," Christensen-Lewis said.
Kent County Planning Director Amy Moredock says the county shares a similar opinion.
"The county feels it would be a disruption and would be an inconsistency with the comprehensive plan," Moredock said.
That comprehensive plan requires the county to preserve its agricultural lands from new development and, in a letter to the study's project manager, the county asked not to be considered - worried their economy would hurt.
But further south in places like Dorchester County, neighbors say it would only help.
"It would generate more jobs and bring a better access of traffic flow," said Alphonso Dunaway of Cambridge.
"It would be good for us. The people of this county would probably look forward to that," said Shawn Shetty of Cambridge.
Something to look forward to for others, but for others...
"We don't want this bridge in Kent County!" Christensen-Lewis said.
The Maryland Transportation Authority says a decision on where the bridge may go could come as soon as 2020 and, as soon as this March, it will hold public meetings to share the project's next steps.
