Nov 10, 2008 11:29 pm US/Eastern
WJZ Investigates Bay Bridge Safety Concerns
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) ―
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It's connected Maryland's eastern and western shores for decades. But with increasing traffic and accidents that are growing more severe, many are worried the Bay Bridge is becoming a death trap.
WJZ
It's connected Maryland's eastern and western shores for decades. But with increasing traffic and accidents that are growing more severe, many are worried the Bay Bridge is becoming a death trap.
Vic Carter investigates the concerns and the possibility of a new bridge.
"I lost half of my family that day. There's no amount of money worth my husband's and son's life. There is no amount of money that should stop them from making us safe to come across those bridges," said Missy Orff.
On May 10, 2007, Missy Orff's life shattered. Her husband Randy and their son Jonathan died in a seven vehicle pile-up on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
On Aug. 10, 2008, memories of Missy's loss assaulted her when a tractor trailer crashed through the bridge's barrier wall and plunged over the edge, killing the driver.
These accidents raise questions about the bridge's safety and its ability to handle increasing traffic.
"This is something we can't stick our head in the sand and just walk away from. We have to deal with it," said Senator E.J. Pipkin.
Pipkin is among those demanding immediate action to fix the aging structure.
The first span of the bridge opened back in 1952, initially handling about one million cars per year. The second span opened in 1973.
Thirty-five years later, roughly 27 million vehicles cross the Bay Bridge. By 2025, that number is expected to double and, with no shoulder on either existing span, drivers have no room for error.
"We need to go ahead and build another span," Pipkin said.
A state task force looking into the possibility of a new bridge considered four locations: a northern crossing from Baltimore County to Kent County, a third span near the existing Bay Bridge and two southern options.
Governor O'Malley says the state needs to consider several factors before even considering change: people's driving habits, the revenue to support a huge new project and the quality of life for people on the Eastern Shore who rarely use the bridge and don't want a new one bringing traffic through their backyards.
"None of those bridges, roads or tunnels ever become stronger with age," said Governor O'Malley. "They all eventually have to be replaced and in the meantime have to be well maintained. A third span is probably eventually something we'll need to do as a state."
But words like "probably" and "eventually" mean little to Missy Orff, who waited more than a year to drive across the bridge after losing her family. She still avoids it as much as she can.
"I feel unsafe," she said, "and because I lost them on that bridge."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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