chesapeake bay bridge

Maryland (Toll) Transportation Authority (MdTA) is named as a defendant in a $19m law suit filed over the deaths of three men in a collision during two-way operations on the three lane 1973 span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at about 4pm May 10 2007.

Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) reopened the right lane of the southern span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge late Sunday, and contrary to warnings of horrendous queueing and disruptions, holiday traffic was described as flowing better than normal.

The famous Olympic Games traffic scare effect was in evidence - if you say how horrendous it's going to be, it won't be too bad.

The Maryland Bay Bridge editorial (link here) has generated some responses:

EDITORIAL: America's national capital region with a population of over 7.5 million people needs an elegant and efficient bridge on the way to the Atlantic coast. The existing pair of troubled, obsolete and ugly spans called the Chesapeake Bay Bridge need to be phased out, and a modern bridge put in their place.

Officials say a car driver falling asleep at the wheel and veering into the path of a truck traveling the other direction during two-way operations was the cause of the crash that sent the truck crashing down into Chesapeake Bay last Sunday morning. The car driver, a 19 year old woman, told police at the hospital and a Washington Post reporter by telephone that she fell asleep at the wheel. It was 4am.

Maryland's notorious Chesapeake Bay Bridge suffered another fatal collision in two-way traffic on Sunday morning. A tractor trailer struck a car in the opposing direction of traffic at around 4am, lost control, neatly punched out a section of concrete parapet and plunged 10m (35ft) into the waters of the Bay.

The driver was killed.