Another Bay Bridge? Really?
Maryland is currently involved in a study on where to locate a third bridge across the Chesapeake Bay. Fourteen possible sites have been identified, beginning with Kent County at the upper Bay and continuing south to a possible crossing in Somerset County, with other sites in between. The first span of the existing bridge was completed in 1952, when I was 9 years old. The second span was opened just over two decades later in 1973. Prior to the opening of the first span, the only way to cross the Bay was via car ferry. There were ferries crossing the Bay between Annapolis and Kent Island as early as the 19th century, and they were probably carrying cars by the 1920s or 1930s, according to Roads to the Future’s Chesapeake Bay Bridge History . The ferry lines included the Claiborne-Annapolis Ferry, operated by a private company, and the Sandy Point-Matapeake Ferry, operated by the State, which is the one that I remember from my childhood.
I remember that ferry crossing very well. Growing up on a farm in Wicomico County, my family didn’t have many opportunities for long vacation trips, but we did have relatives in the Washington, DC area and visited them for weekends as often as possible. Crossing the Bay on the ferry was always an exciting event in my life. My father, who tended to drive fast anyway, would often race to get in line at the ferry before its scheduled departure. My excitement grew as Dad drove onto the ferry with the clank of metal as we entered. Then we would leave the car, climb the stairs to the deck and Dad and Mom, with my baby sister Emma, would find a bench, while I usually explored the boat on the look-out throughout the crossing. Watching the fishing boats in the bay was fascinating to me, and it was even better when a barge or a freighter would appear.
I don’t recall being particularly thrilled the first time we crossed the new bridge. As an adult, however, I have developed a major phobia about driving over those infernally high bridges. Fortunately, my wife Jeanette doesn’t suffer from the same malady, but before we married 31 years ago, my only recourse was the Bridge Patrol police, who with prior arrangement would drive me across free of charge. As we crossed, I heard many stories from them about other poor folk like me. I was especially impressed by the story of the woman who insisted on being closed in the trunk of the car before being driven across! It increasingly became clear that there were too many of us and they had to stop the service. I’ve been told that nowadays there is a number to call to be driven across the bridge for a fee.
You might understand, then, why I wouldn’t be excited at the prospect of yet another high bridge, even if it linked Kent County with Baltimore. Personally, I cast my vote for the return of those marvelous car ferries, wherever the crossing point might be (though I would love it if it were Kent County!). With the ferry crossing, there shouldn’t be the same concerns about uncontrolled sprawl at the crossing site (as on Kent Island). Additionally, there could be more than one ferry crossing, perhaps one in the north and another in the south. I believe it would take less time to set up such crossings than it would to construct another bridge. Furthermore, the Eastern Shore’s economy is based increasingly on eco-tourism and the region’s rich history. What better way to begin that drive into history than with a ferry ride. I believe that my proposal has a sound economic basis. After all, we have an example of the success of such a ferry in our neighboring state of Delaware: the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. Governor Hogan, are you listening?
Twelve Mile Circle , Sept. 9, 2010, “Chesapeake Bay Car Ferries,"
https://www.howderfamily.com/blog/chesapeake-bay-car-ferries/
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore
