Chesapeake Bay Bridge Eastbound Deck Replacement, Annapolis

The eastbound Chesapeake Bay Bridge opened on July 30, 1952. Seventy-four years later, the Maryland Transportation Authority is replacing its deck without closing the span for more than a night at a time. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge eastbound deck replacement is a $140 million Phase 1 contract held by the Kokosing McLean joint venture, and it’s built in pieces: crews cut out a section of old deck after dark, set a precast replacement and reopen before the morning traffic arrives.

That constraint drives everything. The bridge carries more than 80,000 vehicles on a typical day and about 92,000 on summer Saturdays, according to figures shared with ARTBA.

Project Scope

MDTA’s board approved the contract in October 2022 at $140 million, about $10.5 million under the engineer’s estimate, ENR reported. Major work began in late fall 2023. The scope covers the deck floor system, barrier upgrades, strengthening of the steel truss superstructure, new lane-use signal gantries, utility relocations and off-site stormwater work. Truss strengthening west of the suspension span was later added to the contract.

The panels are the heart of the job. They’re precast concrete-and-steel assemblies fabricated off site and barged to work platforms in the bay, so deliveries don’t eat into lane closures. Modjeski and Masters carried the rehabilitation from feasibility study through contract plans, and it instrumented four locations with more than 230 sensors to check load behavior before the design was set. The contractor came on through a CMAR process to help fit the design inside the overnight closure window.

By summer 2025, MDTA reported that the Eastern Shore end of the span had its new deck. Connection slabs ran into 2026. Replacement of the suspension span barrier wall is scheduled from spring 2026 into winter 2027, with overall completion expected in spring 2027.

Why It Matters

This isn’t the span’s first new deck. The eastbound structure was re-decked between 1986 and 1988, and that job moved all traffic onto the westbound bridge while it was underway. When the new contract was approved, MDTA Executive Director William Pines drew the contrast directly: this time the deck would be replaced in sections, without 24/7 closures.

The tradeoff is time. Nightly windows stretch the work across years, and every panel has to drop into place on the first try.

It’s also only half the deck. Minutes from MDTA’s Bay Bridge advisory group in January 2026 say Phase 2 has finished design, with procurement pushed later into the year, and it’s expected to match Phase 1 in length and panel count. At the same time, the state is studying a new bay crossing outright, which puts a practical question over how much more life this 1952 structure is being asked to give.

Project Team & Details