Chesapeake Beach, MD — The new Bridge over Fishing Creek in Chesapeake Beach is designed to accommodate pedestrian and marine vessels as well as vehicles.
The town celebrated the completion of the new MD 261 (Bayside Road) bridge with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday attended by Chesapeake Beach Mayor Patrick Mahoney.
The new bridge offers a wider, safer bridge for travelers. The original bridge, constructed was constructed in 1940. MD 261 serves as the main route into Chesapeake Beach and serves motorists, pedestrians and cyclists across the bridge as well as marine vessels traveling below.
Construction began on the $27.9 million project in Fall 2014. Crews increased the width of the bridge to include wider 12-ft. lanes and added a left-turn southbound lane onto Mears Avenue, 5-ft. ADA-compliant sidewalks, and 5-ft. bicycle-compatible shoulders. The bridge also is 4 ft. higher and provides more under clearance for marine vessels.
Currently, the average daily traffic across the bridge is more than 16,000 vehicles per day and is projected to increase to more than 27,000 vehicles by 2040. MDOT SHA also announced an upcoming sidewalk project along MD 260 (Chesapeake Beach Road) between Cox Road and MD 261 to upgrade ADA intersection ramps; this work will be complete by the end of September.