Travelers fortunate enough to be headed to Ocean City instead of the office this morning should have a better ride than some unlucky Sunday beachgoers.
A 1-foot by 3-foot pothole backed up traffic on the Bay Bridge for as much as nine miles Sunday morning when crews closed the right-hand eastbound lane to finish a temporary fix, according to Teri Moss, spokeswoman for the Maryland Transportation Authority.
The hole in the bridge decking, situated almost at the peak of the span, was reported about 8 a.m. Sunday, and crews closed the lane to put down a steel plate. During the lane closure, one lane of eastbound traffic was redirected onto the westbound span. Both eastbound lanes were reopened by noon.
Crews were scheduled to close the lane again at 9 p.m. Sunday to put down a permanent, fast-setting concrete patch.
Work was supposed to be completed by 5 a.m. today.
Pamela Thorne, spokeswoman for the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, said there were no traffic incidents to compound the headaches on eastbound U.S. Route 50 and said there had been no accidents as a result of the pothole.
“We do make periodic routine checks of the bridge, but we weren?t able to get out there this week because of the rain,” Moss said.
Thousands of cars were expected to cross the Bay Bridge during the holiday weekend.
An expanded E-ZPass lane at the eastbound toll plaza and additional sales of the electronic toll payment system were completed this year in an effort to reduce traffic congestion.
According to numbers released in June by the transportation authority, E-ZPass usage has increased during the past year.
Later this summer, the transportation authority is scheduled to install bright-pink markers on the side of the bridge to help drivers keep a safe distance between cars. Authority officials hope the markers will help curb rear-end collisions on the bridge, the most common source of delays during the summer travel season.
