Seven Things You Didn’t Know About Maryland’s Solomons Bridge

SOLOMONS, Md. — The Gov. Thomas Johnson Bridge, commonly called the Solomons Bridge, is a major artery between Calvert and St. Mary’s counties. The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) is responsible for overseeing and maintaining the bridge, and it reports that over 27,000 vehicles cross the bridge on an average day. Here are seven facts you might not know about this well-trod piece of infrastructure.

The Solomons Bridge Was Constructed During The Big Freeze Of 1977

December 1976 to February 1977 was one of the coldest winters on record in the United States. Snow was reported as far south as Miami. The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries froze so badly that Coast Guard ice-breaking ships were brought in to cut channels for other vessels to deliver critical supplies like food and fuel. The Baltimore Sun reported that a few daredevils lost their cars driving on the relatively thick ice covering the bay, but no one was seriously injured during these incidents.

Construction on the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge began in 1972. While the bridge didn’t officially open until Dec. 17, 1977 — nearly a year after the Big Freeze — that legendary winter still stands out as a memorable part of the project’s later years.

The Solomons Bridge Is Named After Maryland’s First Governor

According to the Maryland State Archives, Thomas Johnson was born in Calvert County in 1732. He drafted Maryland’s first constitution in 1775 and also served as a general in the Maryland militia during the American Revolution. He was elected governor by the state legislature in 1777 and held the office until 1779. Johnson is also famous for being posthumously involved in the landmark Supreme Court case Johnson v. McIntosh, which determined that the federal government had sovereignty over the lands it “discovered,” even if Native Americans had been living there, still lived there and previously agreed to sell that land to private citizens.

The Bridge Was Shut Down In 1988 For Repairs

The SHA closed the bridge in the late ’80s to repair structural cracks in the pillars that support the bridge, The Washington Post reported. As a stopgap, travelers took a half-hour detour via the Benedict Bridge to the north or a ferry from Solomons Island to the southern side of the Patuxent. The metal clamps installed to keep the pillars from crumbling are still visible today.

The Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge Is One Of The Largest Bridges In Maryland

The SHA keeps a map of the thousands of bridge structures dotting the state. The Solomons Bridge is both the third longest and the second highest, measuring 160 feet tall and 1.4 miles long. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is both taller and longer at 186 feet tall and 4.35 miles long. The Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial/Sen. Thomas “Mac” Middleton Bridge is longer at 1.9 miles but a bit shorter at only 135 feet. The original Francis Scott Key Bridge was about 185 feet tall and 1.6 miles long before its collapse, so its replacement could bump the Solomons Bridge or the Nice/Middleton Bridge out of the top three biggest bridges.

In 1992, A Fugitive Survived Jumping Off The Bridge

The Baltimore Sun reported that in the summer of 1992, a St. Mary’s sheriff’s deputy responded to a noise complaint about a car radio at 3 a.m. The driver of a 1980 Chevrolet Chevette took off, escaped a rolling roadblock and reached speeds around 80 mph. The chase ended after the fugitive drove onto the Solomons Bridge, which police surrounded. The fugitive jumped off the bridge, fell more than 100 feet to the water below, then swam a quarter-mile back to St. Mary’s County, where a K-9 officer caught him. The fugitive suffered some injuries but was “in fair condition … with no serious injuries” after the chase. He was charged with eluding police, driving while his license was suspended or revoked and possession of marijuana.

A Manhole Cover Disappeared From The Bridge In 2016

The BayNet covered this story at the time, and it was never solved. Early on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016, SHA crews responded to calls of a large pothole on the Solomons Bridge. What they found was that the cover protecting the catwalk under the bridge was missing. If the manhole cover had simply fallen through the opening to the catwalk below — something they’re specifically designed against — the crew should have found it on the catwalk. No one reported seeing vehicles stopped on the bridge or people stealing the cover. The SHA replaced the manhole covers to avoid this sort of incident happening again. No more information was ever put forward, and the mystery of what happened to the missing cover remains unsolved.

The SHA Wants To Expand Or Replace The Bridge

The Solomons Bridge is a vital lifeline between Calvert and St. Mary’s counties. Commuters making their way to Washington, D.C., or the Patuxent Naval Air Station have to cross the bridge, and it’s the main evacuation route for the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant. As anyone who’s been stuck in traffic on or near the bridge knows, two lanes are not enough space for the tens of thousands of drivers who cross the bridge every day. MDOT SHA is aware of the demand for more lanes and has officially started a project to expand the existing bridge or replace it with a new Gov. Thomas Johnson Bridge that has more lanes and can support cyclists and pedestrians. The planning phase was finished in 2015, but budget adjustments have left no funding to continue the project. Until funding is allocated, it remains unclear when an upgraded Solomons Bridge might become a reality.

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