DUNDALK, Md. — CSX trains carry goods under it from the Port of Baltimore, and the Peninsula Expressway carries 18-wheelers and as many as 12,000 workers per day to Tradepoint Atlantic in Sparrows Point.
What they share in common is a dilapidated bridge.
“It comes down to this bridge. Making sure it’s safe,” said Sen. Ben Cardin as he stood in front of the Route 157 Overpass.
Members of Maryland’s congressional delegation are celebrating the payoff from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed last year, which is now starting to deliver.
“We’ve already gotten the down payment in regards to the bridges---$82 million was made available from the federal government to the state,” said Cardin. “They’re using it for 231 bridges in our state are going to be fixed as a result of those funds.”
The federal infrastructure package is sending $7 billion to Maryland and more than $400 million of that solely to repair and replace aging bridges.
Baltimore County is responsible for the bridge, and now, with at least 80 percent of the bridge’s replacement costs being picked up by the feds, it is ready to move forward.
“A 2016 traffic study indicated that volumes at the intersection of Peninsula Expressway and Bethlehem Boulevard are expected to quadruple by 2037,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski.
It will take the county four years to tear down the existing bridge and to design and build the new one, which should be able to carry the greater load as Sparrows Point and the Port of Baltimore build on their success.
