For around 15 days, city, school system will need to make several adjustments
Closing a bridge is easy. Re-routing an entire city takes a lot more work.
When major repairs by the State Highway Administration (SHA) close Ocean City’s Route 50 bridge for two whole weeks this coming January, it won’t only cut off vehicular traffic for residents and off-season tourists into the south end of town. It’ll impact public safety, school bus routes, even trash pickup, and more.
Ocean City officials were told in May to expect a 15-day bridge closure “sometime in January” and that marine traffic would be closed for a longer period, according to City Manager Terry McGean.
But resort officials didn’t know the exact date, McGean said, until it was reported in this publication that the SHA would embark on its project to repair the interlocking mechanisms that close the bridge on Jan. 5, 2026, one requiring a complete closure to all vehicular traffic. Boats, too, won’t be allowed under the bridge for 75 days, according to SHA.
“We have a great relationship with State Highway but because this work is being done by their Bridge Division and not through District 1, communications with local government are maybe not as timely as they normally are,” McGean said via email.
Even though the shutdown will occur during one of the quietest times of year for this busy beach town, it still throws a monkey wrench into how police officers, firefighters, and public transportation managers do their jobs. They’ll all have to work in concert to minimize disruptions.
Joe Theobald, Ocean City’s Emergency Management Director, said his team will be monitoring traffic patterns daily. If they have to, they can modify traffic flow in response to a serious incident.
“The one thing we want to do is keep the public safe and that means medical transport to the outlying hospitals,” he said. “If this was July, I’d probably be talking differently, but it’s not. We’re prepared for any challenges we may face as a community with the bridge closures.”
Damn it man, stop putting band-aids on an old bridge. A new bridge should have been built years ago. Traffic is only going to increase coming into Ocean City, not decrease. However maybe people in authority are holding out, waiting for that big strong when a bridge will no longer be needed.