Poll Finds 55 Percent Of Marylanders Support Bay Bridge Expansion
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) -- A recent poll shows the majority of Marylanders support the construction of another span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
This as growing delays sometimes stretch in both directions as the Bay Bridge rehabilitation project continues.
A recent Washington Post and University of Maryland poll show a majority of residents are in favor of building a third span of the bridge because of the ongoing traffic delays.
"I think they need a third bridge, it would make things better no matter what time," a commuter told WJZ.
Gabby McClellan travels the Bay Bridge twice a week.
"I'm a student in Baltimore and I commute to Ocean City to work on the weekends, so Friday's I drive three hours. Monday I drive three hours back," she said.
McClellan said tourist season brings backups, but that this fall has been slow.
"This fall it's the worst it's been really I think I mean summer it is bad too but it's been super slow-moving these past couple weeks," McClellan said.
The Bay Bridge rehabilitation project has contributed to the delays. Officials estimate the project will take about two years to complete.
Travelers like Richard Craig said the project is a necessary evil.
"They certainly aren't designed to handle the current demand," Craig said.
A $10 billion estimate is the potential price if a third span is to be constructed.
The State is doing a $5 million study to see what the impacts of building a third span, but nobody has said who would pay for the new bridge.
