STEVENSVILLE, Md. - The Chesapeake Bay Bridge has served as a major connection point between Maryland’s mainland and the Eastern Shore for more than 70 years, transforming travel and commerce across the state.
Before the bridge was built, ferries were commonly used to carry travelers across the Chesapeake Bay. But as tourism and development on the Eastern Shore grew, ferries could no longer handle the increasing traffic demand.
According to Preservation Maryland, proposals for a bridge across the bay date back to 1907. Plans made in 1927 for a span connecting Annapolis and the Eastern Shore were later scrapped following the stock market crash of 1929 and the economic struggles of the Great Depression.
In 1938, the Maryland General Assembly authorized construction of the bridge, though the project was delayed again because of World War II and shortages of materials needed for construction.
Construction on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge officially began in 1947 and was completed five years later, opening to traffic in 1952.
The bridge’s unique curve came from a requirement by the Army Corps of Engineers, which would only approve the design if it crossed the shipping channel at a 90-degree angle. Engineers adjusted the bridge’s layout to meet that requirement, creating the now-iconic curve drivers still recognize today.
At the time it was completed, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was the longest over-water steel structure in the world, stretching 4.2 miles long across the Chesapeake Bay.
Today, the bridge remains one of Maryland’s most important transportation links, carrying between 20 and 30 million vehicles each year while connecting travelers, businesses and beachgoers to the Eastern Shore.
