The Chesapeake Bay Bridge (also known locally as the Bay Bridge) is a major dual-span bridge in the U.S. state of Maryland.Spanning the Chesapeake Bay, it connects the state's rural Eastern Shore region with the urban Western Shore, between Stevensville and the capital city of Annapolis.The original span, opened in 1952 and with a length of 4.3 miles (6.9 km), was the world's longest . Chesapeake Bay, largest inlet in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the eastern United States. Maryland Office of Tourism Liza Weisstuch Harriet Tubman successfully navigated her own escape from slavery, and then led dozens of others on a path to freedom, thanks in no small part to her. There's even a gift shop that you can pull over on the bridge or just walk around and get some fresh air. "Old Bay Seasoning is our secret ingredient here at the Inn the ultimate seafood spice and a (Maryland) must," said Chef Greg. More than 300 species of fish, shellfish and crab species and a wide array of other wildlife call the Bay home. Even though it was slightly out of the way, it was worth the trip. [9] These included one further north near Baltimore, one in southern Maryland, and an additional span to be added to the existing bridge from Kent Island to Sandy Point; ultimately, the third option was chosen. [42] The annual walk was canceled for the first time in 1980 due to poor weather conditions, and later saw frequent cancellations throughout the 2000s. Chef Greg noted that they have started to see more local rockfish in the last week or so due to the waters getting cooler. Extending from the rural border with North Carolina to the harbor area of Hampton Roads adjacent to the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach, Chesapeake is located on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. Yes, the relatively small region (compared to other culinary giants) is making waves in the industry with its fresh catches, flavorful seasonal vegetables, famous desserts, and top-notch resident chefs. Founded in 1967, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is the largest independent conservation organization dedicated solely to saving the Bay. MDTA crews will no longer have to manually open and close the crossovers for two-way traffic operations. The Dismal Swamp Canal runs through Chesapeake as well. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. City leaders are faced with conflicts between development of residential, commercial and industrial areas and preservation of virgin forest and wetlands. One may observe osprey, eagles and herons nesting and hunting along Carters Creek; watch, As one of the 8 great small towns of Virginia'sRiver Realm, Kilmarnock offers the perfect balance of small-town, Turn off the main road. Once home to canneries and seafood-packing houses, Cambridge now claims an up-and-coming main street with restaurants and galleries, not to mention the riverfront Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, a good base from which to explore Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, about ten miles south. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. Norfolk headquartered Virginia Natural Gas, a subsidiary of AGL Resources, distributes natural gas to the city from storage plants in James City County and in the city. Oysters, once very populous in the bay, have greatly declined. In some areas, the marshes will be able to migrate inland, allowing continued viability of the habitat, however it will contribute to a loss of nearly 41,000 acres of undeveloped dry land. What will your impact be? Its home to two of the countrys five major North Atlantic ports, Baltimore and Hampton Roads, and it produces about 500 million pounds of seafood per year. The Chesapeake Bay is the life water that runs through Maryland as well as five other states, and is one of the defining factors that have shaped Maryland cuisine. Not only do they contribute to the excess nutrients (by making it easier for nutrients to be picked up by rain), they also have their own set of problems. The Chesapeake Bay watershed includes parts of six states and is home to some 17 million people, including the cities of Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland. Excess nutrients come from many sources, including treated wastewater, runoff from agricultural areas, runoff from suburban areas such as lawn and garden fertilizers and septic systems, and even air pollution. The town's summertime population swells with visitors, many of whom have crossed northward over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, which opened in 1964 . A Maryland-native, Jake was born in a suburb of Annapolis and now lives a dog-walk away from the waterfront in Canton, Baltimore. Point Lookout State Park. Every action we take on the land affects our local streams and rivers, and ultimately the Bay, so its up to the 18 million of us that live in the Bay watershed to take the correct actions: ones that will help, rather than hurt, an already degraded ecosystem. Although it may not sound like a bad thing, too many nutrients can cause a lot of problems in the bay. The Chesapeake's commercial fishery is worth billions of dollars and includes blue crabs, rockfish, menhaden, and eastern oysters. Rockfish is mostly always an item on the Inn's menu, but especially now through the winter. One of the bay's biggest problems is too many nutrients in the water. Should most people pay for people with private boats, a small minority. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The two major Class 1 railroads are CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern, joined by three short line railroads. Seventy to ninety percent of all striped bass, known locally as rockfish, were spawned in the Bay. [23] Hampton Roads Magazine serves as a bi-monthly regional magazine for Chesapeake and the Hampton Roads area. To find out more, please see our Privacy Policy. Nearly 20 percent of undeveloped dry land at this site is at risk of inundation, mostly as rivers widen and transitional marsh and saltmarsh expand. The site of this canal was surveyed by George Washington, among others, and is known as "Washington's Ditch". The Chesapeake Bay is about 200 miles long, stretching from Havre de Grace, Maryland, in the north to the mouth at Virginia Beach, Virginia. MDTA Police then escort traffic across the bridge in the reversible lane. In addition to oysters, striped bass and crabs, theres a vast variety of seafood in the Bay that contribute to Maryland cuisine, such as bluefish, catfish and bay scallops. During the 1950s, US50 on the Western Shore was rerouted onto the long-proposed AnnapolisWashington Expressway (now known as the John Hanson Highway), which was built at the time in order to provide better access to the bridge. [38] All-electronic tolling began on May 12, 2020, with tolls payable through E-ZPass or Video Tolling, which uses automatic license plate recognition. Someplace with great seafood restaurants and a museum that puts you in touch with Chesapeake traditions? Until the late 1980s and early 1990s, much of Chesapeake was either suburban or rural, serving as a bedroom community of the adjacent cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach with residents commuting to these locations. [61] Previous plans to expand US 50's freeway portion and replace the aging Harry W. Kelley Memorial Bridge into Ocean City have been delayed. [27][28] Two-way traffic may occur on the eastbound span during overnight roadwork or during emergency situations that close the westbound span, on which two-way traffic is more common. Local tip: RAR Brewing (504 Poplar St.; 443-225-5664) spikes beers with interesting flavors such . And the trees that sprawl from the Bay shores and forests cool our communities. You cant talk about Maryland cuisine without mentioning seafood. When the MDTA closes either span for overnight roadwork, it implements two-way traffic on the span that remains open. Thank you, this helped me with my class work. It runs north-south from the mouth of the Susquehanna River to the Atlantic Ocean. Kent Island. It is the oldest continuously used man made canal in the United States today and has been in service for over 230 years. This 17.6-mile bridge-tunnel is a true feat of engineering . "We take a seasonal approach to the cake and change it almost every month to highlight the best ingredients we have," he said. About 6.1% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over. This site uses cookies to enhance the user experience and measure marketing activities. Irvington has much to offer. The population density was 584.6 inhabitants per square mile (225.7/km2). However, a more comprehensive assessment would be beneficial, stating citing specific sources, Thank you. [34] The MDTA has to monitor two-way traffic operations on the bridge due to the length of the bridge and its lack of shoulders. This work included the aforementioned 1973 completion of the second Bay Bridge span, the extension of the US50 freeway eastward to the US50/US301 split in Queenstown, and the construction of a freeway bypass around the north side of Salisbury in 2002. Plans for the new bridge were made, but construction was canceled following the Wall Street Crash of 1929 with the collapse of the American economy and resulting Great Depression of the 1930s.[3]. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is a fixed link crossing that connects the cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Portsmouth with Northampton County on the Eastern Shore. In July 1930, the ClaiborneAnnapolis Ferry Company added a new route, one running from Annapolis to Matapeake, a significantly shorter distance. Virginia's Eastern Shore: Virginia's Eastern Shore faces a dramatic loss of estuarine and ocean beaches. The first walk was held in 1975,[44] when a Towson Boy Scout leader asked Governor Marvin Mandel if his troop could walk across the bridge during maintenance. The bridge has also given easier access to Ocean City from the Western Shore, which has caused Ocean City to grow from a small town to one that is said to become the second largest city in Maryland during the summer. The Bay holds about 18 trillion gallons of water. [4] Although the legislation authorizing the new bridge passed, the involvement of the United States in World War II delayed the bridge's construction. By 2025, estuarine beach is projected to decline by 52 percent and ocean beach by 26 percent. Additionally, the road has been upgraded and realigned over the years from its original two-lane configuration to a four-lane divided highway, with the last such section being in Vienna, bypassed in 1991. [69] The task force concluded that a bridge would be the best option for an additional crossing, and four geographic locations for such a bridge were explored: Anne Arundel County to Queen Anne's County (the existing location), Baltimore County to Kent County, Anne Arundel or Calvert County to Talbot County, and Calvert County to Dorchester County. Unlike oysters, striped bass populations are at sustainable levels. 2002 and 2007 due to poor weather conditions. You won't find them fresher anywhere else. The bay also includes two of the biggest East Coast commercial portsBaltimore and Hampton Roads. Dramatic habitat losses are predicted for the refuge and surrounding areas, where global sea-level rise is compounded by high rates of land subsidence due to groundwater withdrawal for agriculture and relatively lower rates of natural accretion in marshes. [26] The major network television affiliates are WTKR-TV 3 (CBS), WAVY 10 (NBC), WVEC-TV 13 (ABC), WGNT 27 (CW), WTVZ 33 (MyNetworkTV), WVBT 43 (Fox), and WPXV 49 (ION Television). 113 reviews of Chesapeake Bay Bridge -Tunnel "My partner wanted to take me to this 17-mile bridge & underwater tunnel while on the way to North Carolina. The automated gate system will reduce traffic congestion when implementing two-way traffic. Much of its follows the former right-of-way of an abandoned portion of the Virginian Railway. By protecting the Bay, we are ensuring their survival and thus reaping the benefits they offer. When you think of famous cuisines, perhaps Italian, Southern, or Mexican come to mind. Many cities, towns, organizations and schools have annual Bull and Oyster Roasts throughout the year, where people get together and celebrate by eating barbecue, such as Pit Beef, and raw and cooked oysters. Within the city limits in the southwestern section is a large portion of the Great Dismal Swamp. Within the city limits, Chesapeake Regional Airport is a general aviation facility located just south of Great Bridge. Towns on the mainland, like Crisfield, will also see surrounding wetlands disappear and undeveloped dry land inundated by rising seas. If we are unable to preserve the Bay, these economic benefits will diminish and we could even see a reduction in the seafood that feeds citizens across the country. The Mid-Atlantic region is defined by one unifying feature: water. The watershed encompasses parts of six statesDelaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginiaand the entire District of Columbia. This explosive growth quickly led to strains on the municipal infrastructure, ranging from intrusion of saltwater into the city's water supply to congested roads and schools. These regions have transcended borders with their ingredients and styles of cooking. These hard surfaces make up 21 percent of all urban lands in the bay watershed. The National Park Service strives to connect people to the opportunities and adventures throughout the watershed.
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