page_title: Chesapeake Bay Bridge
section_title: Notable incidents
hierarchical_section_title: Chesapeake Bay Bridge / History / Notable incidents
caption_attribution_description: English: "Annapolis MD 9/18/03 -- Wind speeds reached upwards of 55 mph on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and officials were forced to close it."
context_page_description: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is a major dual-span bridge in the U.S. state of Maryland. Spanning the Chesapeake Bay, it connects the state's rural Eastern Shore region with the urban Western Shore. The original span, opened in 1952 and with a length of 4.3 miles, was the world's longest continuous over-water steel structure. The parallel span was added in 1973. The bridge is officially named the Gov. William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge after William Preston Lane Jr. who, as the 52nd Governor of Maryland, initiated its construction in the late 1940s finally after decades of political indecision and public controversy.
  The bridge is part of U.S. Route 50 and US 301, and serves as a vital link in both routes. As part of cross-country US 50, it connects the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area with Ocean City, Maryland, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and other coastal tourist resort destinations. As part of US 301, it serves as part of an alternative route for Interstate 95 travelers, between northern Delaware and the Washington, D.C., area.
context_section_description: Because of its height, the narrowness of the spans (there are no hard shoulders), the low guardrails, and the frequency of high winds, it is known as one of the scariest bridges in the world. Several incidents have caused significant closures and traffic congestion on either side approaching the bridge.
  The bridge has been closed four times due to extreme weather. The first time was September 18, 2003, during Hurricane Isabel and its high winds. On August 27, 2011, the bridge was closed to all traffic due to the impact of Hurricane Irene. Then-Governor Martin O'Malley ordered the bridge closed when sustained winds exceeded 55 miles per hour (89 km/h). On October 29, 2012, the bridge was closed due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy. On March 6, 2013, during the March 2013 nor'easter, high winds again caused the bridge to be closed.
  On August 10, 2008, a tractor trailer involved in a head-on collision near the west end fell from the bridge; the driver died in the crash. The incident has highlighted concern that the bridge may not be structurally safe, but the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) has discounted any structural or engineering problems with it. Inspections of the wall in the weeks following the accident revealed that there was deterioration in the form of corrosion of the steel reinforcements inside barriers; this prompted immediate repairs to the wall.
caption: The Bay Bridge during 2003's Hurricane Isabel.
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