MAKING WAY FOR A NEW BAY BRIDGE

Support the Bills!
As you may know, there is currently a four year, $5 million study for the new Bay Bridge crossing. Earlier traffic predictions were for an average 1.3% growth/year in traffic on the Bridge. But as we thought, these numbers were poorly estimated. Actual measured growth was 3.0-3.5% in 2016 and approximately 2.0% in 2017. This shortens our timeline to gridlock by 10 years.

Another key complexity to this process: an old state law allows any county on the Eastern Shore that might be selected for a new Bay crossing can reject their selection. The current $5M study could result in an Eastern Shore county selection that leaves only our Broadneck Corridor as the viable site for the additional span…..This is NOT what the Broadneck wants nor Queen Anne’s County. We are seeking relief from the incursion of eastbound traffic that clogs our Rte #50/301 highway for 4 months during summer beach season.

To this end several bills have been submitted in the legislature. They need your support now!

At our request, State Senator Ed Reilly has entered Senate bill #34 in the Senate finance committee to require the county/counties selected by this MDTA EIS/NEPA study– to be required to accept their role as the new site for the new bridge span. Without passage of this legislation there is no law that requires Eastern Shore counties to accept the location that is environmentally (NEPA) safe and effective use of our money. This can result in the waste of another multimillion study to solve our traffic problems. That would mean the Bay Crossing would defacto stay right where it is now, further disrupting our quality of life and property values in the Broadneck.

Please support Senator Reilly’s bill #34. This bill has been crossfiled by Delegate Mike Malone in the House as Bill #560. The hearing for this bill in the environmental and transportation committee room in the House office bldg is next Thursday, 2/15/18 at 1:00pm. 

Please come ready to testify in support of this bill. To do so you must sign in to testify at 1:00pm outside the Env. and Trans. Committee room.

FASTER BAY TRAFFIC
There is also a bill filed by Delegate Tony McConkey — Bill #377, to require all Bay Bridge toll booths to have electronic readers so cars may pass through the tolls more quickly. Anyone who does not have a scanner will have their license plate read and an invoice sent to them to pay their toll to mdta. This will remove the wait for cash payments/change, to be transacted at the toll booths. Please attend this meeting if you can add your voice to ours in support of a firm and final resolution to expedite vehicles through the toll booths at the Bridge.

If you plan on testifying please -if possible- send Pat Lynch an email (see below) that you will be there and will add your voice to those of us who are working with Senator Reilly (SB #34) and Delegate Malone (HB # 560) and McConkey (HB #377–for all electronic toll conversion).

CONTACT:
Pat Lynch, President
Broadneck Council of Communities, Inc.
BBRAG Member representing W. Shore Chesapeake Bay Communities
Phone: 410-757-3231
email: [email protected]