UPDATE: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge reopened at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Phase II wind restrictions are in effect, prohibiting any trailers, campers, recreational vehicles from crossing. Wind gusts in excess of 50 miles per hour are still possible.
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Two Maryland bridges were closed due to high winds from Hurricane Irene overnight.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Harry Nice Memorial Bridge closed Saturday night due to high winds and unsafe driving conditions.
The Bay Bridge closed at about 7:35 p.m. after sustained winds reached more than 62 mph and wind gusts reached up to 80 mph. It will remain closed until conditions improve.
Those traveling from the Eastern Shore toward Baltimore or other points west, an alternate route for the Bay Bridge is northbound US 113, US 13 or DE 1 through Delaware, to southbound I-95 in Maryland.
The Maryland Transportation Authority closed the Nice Bridge just after midnight. Sustained winds of 59 mph with even stronger gusts created unsafe driving conditions. It reopened before 6 a.m. with wind restrictions.
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MDTA’s three additional bridges -- the Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695), the Tydings Memorial Bridge (I-95) and the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge (US 40) -- operated under wind warnings. Those restrictions have been lifted at the Tydings and Hatem bridges.
Operators of house trailers, box trailers, motorcycles, vehicles with roof-mount racks containing cargo or any other vehicle that may be subject to high winds are advised to use caution while traveling across these bridges.
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