D.C. The bridge also forms part of an alternative route from the Delaware Memorial Bridge to the nation's capital. The two-lane original span was built in 1952. It replaced two vehicular ferries that ran from near Annapolis, to the Chesapeake Eastern Shore. The parallel structure opened in 1973 and has three lanes for westbound travelers. The original span then became a two-lane roadway for eastbound traffic.
All lanes are reversible.
Generally, three lanes are thrown in the direction of peak traffic. Summer weekends tend to have very heavy traffic to and from the Eastern Shore, and to ocean resorts such as Ocean City, Maryland, and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Each bridge has a suspension span over the main shipping channel. Horizontal clearance is 1,500 feet, vertical clearance is 186 feet. The original span was closed during a couple winters for deck replacement, around 1985.