State Agencies

cis Scott Key Bridge was opened to traffic in
March of 1977 and connects Sellers Point in
Baltimore County with Hawkins Point in Balti-
more City. It also is the final link in the 52-mile
Baltimore Beltway (Route 695).

The William Preston Lane, Jr., Memorial
Bridge is one of the longest over-water structures
in the world. It spans 4.35 miles of the Chesa-
peake Bay between Sandy Point on the Western
Shore to a point near Stevensville on the Eastern
Shore. The traffic lanes between the suspension
towers are 2,922-1/2 feet in length and 198-1/2
feet above the Bay. The bridge rises to a total
height of 354 feet. This span was opened to traf-
fic on July 30, 1952, and is located on two princi-
pal motor arteries, U.S. 301 and U.S. 50. At the
request of the General Assembly, the State Roads
Commission in 1967 renamed the Chesapeake
Bay Toll Bridge the William Preston Lane, Jr.,
Memorial Bridge (Res. No. 21, Acts of 1967).

On October 1, 1968, Bridge and Tunnel Reve-
nue Bonds were issued to provide funds for the
cost of constructing a parallel bridge across the
Chesapeake Bay, the cost of constructing a cross-
ing of the Patapsco River (Baltimore Outer Har-
bor) from Hawkins Point to Sparrows Point, and
the cost of constructing a connection between U.S.
Route 1 and Interstate Route 95 near Elkridge.

On June 28, 1973, the parallel Bay Bridge was
opened to traffic. In conjunction with this, the
existing toll plaza was widened from six to ten
lanes (and has since beeen expanded to fourteen)
and the administration building and maintenance
facilities were enlarged.

The Susquehanna River Toll Bridge spans the
Susquehanna River from a point near Perryville in
Cecil County to a point near Havre de Grace in
Harford County. It is 7,613 feet long (1.4 miles)
and was opened to traffic on August 28, 1940.

The Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge
across the Potomac River in Charles County was
opened to traffic in 1940. It is on U.S. 301 be-
tween Maryland and Virginia. Originally named
the Potomac River Toll Bridge, the structure was
renamed the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial
Bridge in 1967 by the State Roads Commission.

The Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and its seven-
teen-mile thruway opened to traffic on November
30, 1957. It provides a major north-south bypass
of the City of Baltimore.

The John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway (for-
merly the Northeastern Expressway) was con-

Transportation/279

structed with revenue bond proceeds authorized
by Chapter 1, Acts of the Special Session of 1956
(Code 1957, Article 89B, secs. 141-162A). This
toll road, which is a part of Interstate Route 95,
was opened to traffic on November 14, 1963. Its
forty-two miles extend from the Delaware State
line to White Marsh Boulevard, north of Bal-
timore. Combined with the New Jersey Turnpike,
the Delaware River Bridge, the Delaware Turn-
pike, and the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, this
highway is an integral segment of the major
north-south traffic corridor along the East Coast.

The administrative offices of the John F.
Kennedy Memorial Highway are located at the
Perryville Plaza Barrier, where tolls for through
traffic are collected.

The State's four toll bridges, tunnel, and toll
road are financed, constructed, operated, and
maintained solely through the tolls charged to
users and do not rely on any State or local tax
revenues for support (Code Transportation Arti-
cle, secs. 4-101 through 4-404).

STATE RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION

Charles H. Smith, Administrator

P. 0. Box 8755
Baltimore-Washington International Airport
Baltimore 21240 Telephone: 787-7210

The Railroad Administration was formed in
1978 (Executive Order 01.01.1978.11). Its duties
are to preserve and improve present railroad
transportation facilities and services in Maryland
and to plan for and provide new facilities and
services, wherever possible.

The Department's present involvement in the
State's railroad transportation system includes:
funding of rehabilitation work on freightlines in
Western Maryland and on the Eastern Shore; ad-
ministering operating subsidies for four passenger
services, including commuter service to Washing-
ton from Brunswick and from Harford and Cecil
counties to Baltimore and Washington; responsi-
bility for a $16 million capital improvement pro-
gram on the Brunswick-Washington and Balti-
more-Washington B&O commuter lines, including
purchase of additional equipment and renovation
work in state areas; in cooperation with the feder-
al Northeast Rail Corridor program, coordinating
plans for improvements to railroad lines and ser-
vices in the Baltimore region; working closely
with other State agencies, local governments, and
railroad transportation providers and users to en-