Maryland has received federal approval to conduct a Tier 2 NEPA environmental study aimed at identifying an exact location for a new Chesapeake Bay crossing.
The Record of Decision from the Federal Highway Administration endorses the Maryland Transportation Authority’s preferred alternative of locating the new bridge within a two-mile-wide corridor surrounding the existing 4.3-mile dual-span suspension bridge. In addition to being shorter than other alternatives evaluated in MDTA’s Tier 1 study, the selected corridor presented the potential of fewer impacts on both the surrounding communities and environmentally sensitive aquatic resources.