The Severn River Bridge, officially known as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, is a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

that crosses the Severn River northwest of the

city limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate limi ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

. The bridge serves as part of the John Hanson Highway, which is signed as

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

(US 50) and U.S. Route 301 (US 301).

Maryland Route 2 Maryland Route 2 (MD 2) is the longest state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The route runs from Solomons Island in Calvert County north to an intersection with U.S. Route 1 (US 1)/ US 40 Truck ( North Avenue) in Baltimore. The route ...

(MD 2) also traverses the bridge, but no MD 2 signs exist along the section of highway the route traverses. MD 2 separates from US 50/301 east of the bridge and becomes Governor Ritchie Highway, and to the west of the bridge it leaves the highway along Solomons Island Road. The bridge serves as the main connection between Annapolis and points east, including the Eastern Shore via the

Chesapeake Bay Bridge The Chesapeake Bay Bridge (also known locally as the Bay Bridge) is a major twin bridges, dual-span bridge in the U.S. state of Maryland. Spanning the Chesapeake Bay, it connects the state's rural Eastern Shore of Maryland, Eastern Shore regio ...

; however, unlike the rest of US 50/301 in the area, the bridge lacks

shoulders The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder mak ...

and is often a point of

traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...

and numerous accidents.

History

The first road bridge across the Severn River was a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...

built in the late 1920s. [From Anne Arundel County site: In 1886, the long-awaited Severn River road bridge was built on the site of the present Rte 2 bridge. All of these were made of timber and have since been replaced with masonry bridges in slightly different positions.] Including railroad bridges, at least eighteen have been constructed over the Severn and its creeks. The bridge served as part of MD 2 and later US 50 after the later route was extended across the Chesapeake Bay. (This original bridge was replaced with the current

Naval Academy Bridge The U.S. Naval Academy Bridge is a bridge that crosses the Severn River in Annapolis, Maryland. It is located downriver from the Severn River Bridge and adjacent to the United States Naval Academy. Its predecessor, a bascule bridge, once served ...

in 1994.) When the John Hanson Highway was built, the current Severn River Bridge was built to carry it across the river. Originally, the bridge carried only four lanes, but was later expanded to six when the surrounding parts of the highway were upgraded, leaving the bridge with no shoulders and a high accident rate. The Severn River Bridge was officially renamed the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge in December 2006 in honor of the 65th anniversary of the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

. The bridge was expanded to seven lanes, four eastbound and three westbound, from the fall 2017 to the spring of 2018. The expansion narrowed each of the lanes from 12 to 11 feet, and the shoulders from three feet to one foot. The renovation was completed after eight months of work and the improved layout was implemented in time for

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

of 2018, helping to reduce congestion during peak eastbound travel times.

References

Live VideoNOAA Chart of Severn RiverHistory of the Severn River
Annapolis, Maryland U.S. Route 50 Bridges in Anne Arundel County, Maryland Road bridges in Maryland U.S. Route 301 Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Bridges completed in 1953 1953 establishments in Maryland {{Maryland-road-stub