Severn River Bridge's Redesign Earns National Award

SEVERN, MD — A project to increase capacity on the Severn River Bridge has earned national recognition in the 2019 America's Transportation awards competition. The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration was recognized for its exceptional design with the operations excellence award, small project category.

“Under Gov. Larry Hogan’s leadership, MDOT is boldly rebuilding transportation infrastructure throughout the state and delivering meaningful projects to our customers,” said MDOT Secretary Pete K. Rahn in a statement.

The $22.8 million project on US 50 over the Severn River Bridge was initiated to reduce traffic congestion in the eastbound direction, which is often compounded by beach-bound traffic during the peak summer season. Using the existing bridge footprint, MDOT SHA increased capacity from three 12-foot eastbound lanes, three 12-foot westbound lanes and a 3-foot median to four 11-foot eastbound lanes, three 11-foot westbound lanes and a 2-foot median.

“Our MDOT SHA bridge and operations teams took the Severn River Bridge challenge, met it head-on and found an innovative solution to deliver value to our customers – with dramatically reduced cost and construction impacts,” said MDOT SHA Administrator Greg Slater in a statement. “The improved Severn River Bridge reduces congestion and improves reliability in the Annapolis area for daily commuters and summer beach traffic.”