Nobody asked me, but the idea of spending $9 billion to build a third bridge across the Chesapeake Bay still seems absurd, even more so than when I first heard the idea.
I say that for several reasons: The effects of climate change on sea-level rise; the need to reduce harmful emissions as the transition to electric-powered cars and trucks takes many more years; the desire to preserve open space, the Eastern Shore’s rural character, and the general quality of life on both sides of the bay; the likelihood that the cost of a new bridge will surpass the current estimate; and Maryland’s many other spending priorities, well ahead of a third bridge.
I say make a long-term plan to avoid having to build the thing:
- Continue to fix the current bridges, keep them in good shape.
- Emphasize new home construction and economic development in older urban and suburban areas — Baltimore, for instance, could handle at least another 200,000 people — and, by managing growth, limit the number of workers making long commutes, including over the bay.
- Don’t concede, as former Gov. Larry Hogan did, that “traffic here is just going to get worse.” That’s the view of someone who wants to have a bridge named after him. Instead, we should be looking at ways to reduce the traffic over the bridges. Telecommuting is here to stay, at least for many sectors of the economy, and should be a factor in public and private planning. A lot of workers are accustomed to working from home since the pandemic, and that convenience has now become a tool for recruiting and retaining talent. It also has reduced commuting and, with it, vehicle emissions.
- Deploy electric-powered ferries from points up and down the bay.
Congratulations. You have just arrived at the fun part of today’s column.
You’ve heard me make the ferry suggestion before, starting five years ago. Electric-powered ferries of various sizes are in use throughout Europe, ranging from the big ones that carry cars and trucks as well as people to the smaller, faster ones used as water taxis around city waterfronts.
Both battery technology and vessel design continue to advance, and demand for e-ferries grows.
Of course, before there were bridges across the Chesapeake, there were diesel-powered ferries from Sandy Point to Kent Island. That’s ancient history, and millions of gallons of fossil fuel ago. Maryland was a very different place before the bridges.
When the first Bay Bridge opened in 1952, the state’s population was 2.6 million and there were about 780,000 cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles, according to the Federal Highway Administration. By the time the second Bay Bridge opened alongside the first in 1973, Maryland’s population was around 4 million, and there were 2.2 million vehicles registered with the state.
The population now is about 6.1 million, and we have close to 5 million registered vehicles — facts that hit you square in the windshield when you try to cross the Bay Bridge during the busiest travel months.
Can ferries relieve all the pressure on the bridges?
No, but they can certainly help, and in more ways than you might think.
A consortium of five Maryland counties is in the midst of a ferry feasibility study. Last month, officials involved in the project gave the commissioners of one of the participating jurisdictions, St. Mary’s County, a briefing on what a network of passenger ferries on the bay might look like.
Here are some of the routes being envisioned: Baltimore to Rock Hall, Kent Island and St. Michaels; Baltimore to Annapolis; Annapolis to Matapeake; Annapolis to Chesapeake Beach; Chesapeake Beach to Oxford, Easton and Cambridge; Annapolis to Crisfield; Chesapeake Beach to Solomons Island and St. Mary’s City; St. Mary’s City to Crisfield.
This is a smart approach to making ferries across the bay a reality. The emphasis is on commuting, says Ben Cohen, with the St. Mary’s Department of Economic Development, but the ferry system would be a boon to tourism.
Think about it: These are passenger ferries; they do not carry cars or trucks. If you take one, you either have to have a ride waiting for you on the other side or expect to spend your time hiking or riding a bike.
Think what that could do for destination tourism.
Maybe you could take a trip from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to Rock Hall for the day, or maybe you could take a ferry from Matapeake to Annapolis to have lunch, hang out or attend a Navy football game.
Getting across the bay is not only about getting to Ocean City.
There are plenty of little bayside places that would love to see more Marylanders visiting them.
I went on a fishing trip out of Crisfield a few years ago. It was a long ride from Baltimore, about 160 miles via the bay bridge, to meet the guide and his boat at the dock. If an electric-powered ferry had been available from Annapolis, I would have preferred to visit Crisfield that way. Had the ferry been available from Baltimore, even better. Once I got to the dock, I had no need for a car.
I know: We love cars, and we love the freedom to come and go as we please. Ferries aren’t free, and they run on a schedule. But they strike me as a lot more fun and fuel-efficient than all that driving we do to get to places across the bay.