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World War II
Ultimately, World War II interfered with the SRC’s construction of the new Baltimore-
Washington expressway or the new Chesapeake Bay Bridge that Greiner proposed. Further
complicating the issue was the disagreement between the state and the City of Baltimore about
whether the highway would cross Baltimore’s active harbor through a tunnel or over a bridge.
The one bridge that crossed the harbor was the 1916 Hanover Street Bridge, a double leaf
bascule bridge. Movable bridges stopped vehicular traffic when a ship passed through the
bridge, which was not an efficient way to keep traffic moving in Baltimore. During the War the
SRC continued discussions and planning for the bay bridge and a new highway that would cross
the harbor and connect Baltimore with Washington. Although the highways which the SRC had
constructed prior to the war would not have kept up with peacetime traffic, the war caused a
reduction in most traffic volumes in Maryland, because of the war rationing. As a result, the
highways were sufficient for war related traffic. 25
Planning for Maryland’s Post-War Highways 1942-1946
As the war continued, federal and state funding for highway construction became
unavailable. Likewise, more and more of the engineers and maintenance crews were called into
military service. The SRC only constructed highway projects that improved transportation to
military bases or war related industries during the war. However, the engineers who remained at
the SRC and Greiner Engineering continued to make plans for both the Chesapeake Bay Bridge
and the Baltimore-Washington highway for possible post-War construction. There was concern
by federal and state agencies that with the end of the war, unemployment would return to
Depression-era levels, and highway construction was an employment option for returning
veterans.
The traffic impacts to Baltimore continued to influence the planning for the locations of
the new Baltimore-Washington Expressway and Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Greiner’s 1938 bridge
study had recommended two possible locations for the bay bridge, one at the northern end of the
bay between Miller’s Island and Tolchester, Kent County, and the other between Sandy Point,
Anne Arundel County and Kent Island, Queen Anne’s County. The U.S. War Department and
the commander of the Aberdeen Proving Ground opposed the northern alignment because of its
proximity to the munitions test areas. Furthermore, the northern crossing paralleled US 40 so it
did not alter the traffic impacts to Baltimore since traffic would still enter the City. The Sandy
Point-Kent Island alignment became the preferred location because it would carry more traffic,
serve more people because of the central location between the Eastern and Western shores, and
avoid the traffic problems in Baltimore. 26
25 The only new or improved highways built in Maryland during the war were roads that connected military bases or
war-related industries such as the Suitland Parkway between Andrews Air Force Base and Washington, DC, MD
150 between the Martin Air Plane Factory and Baltimore, and improvements to MD 237 near the Patuxent Naval Air
Station in St. Mary’s County. All of the work was approved by the Army and Navy Departments and funds were
released by the War Production Board in order to acquire restricted materials and labor to do the construction. See,
Report of the State Roads Commission of Maryland, Operating Report for the Fiscal Years 1943-1944, Baltimore,
MD: 1945 (page 1).
26 Greiner, Primary Bridge, 1938