Crossing the Susquehanna via US-40

May 17, 2017

Well, we approached this with some trepidation and an equal amount of curiosity, given all the press releases and politicking surrounding the decision to finally provide an alternate route to the US-1 (Conowingo Dam) crossing. I say we, but in reality, Happy and I crossed separately. Since we started in Washington, I have been riding a bit faster than Jerry and Happy, who ride at a similar pace. Also, I've done more riding this year leading up to this tour, so have a bit of an edge.

So as I approached Havre de Grace, I came in on the East Coast Greenway, hoping to get a feel for the town and a glimpse of the historic district. Well, neither happened, mostly because there really was no "historic" district per se, at least none that I saw.

But I did make my way to the waterfront so I could get a view of the belly of the beast, the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge. It is quite a sight! It looked very intimidating. But it's also a beautiful bridge with a significant center span (the bridge engineer in me cannot resist).

The Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge. The "first" main span is to the right in this photograph. There is a second, similar span further to the right beyond the photograph. The bridge is quite long.

To the right, downstream, I spied the forlorn Amtrak crossing, soon to be replaced. It was hoped, at one time, that the replacement would include a pedestrian/bicycle facility. But that was not to be. The replacement has long been planned, and no money had been set aside to include a bicycle facility. In my heart, I know that railroads hate the idea of anyone being on their property, so I suspect it was a dead-on-arrival scenario at best. And I can think of a long list of safety and security reasons that were (or could be) offered as reasons to not allow it. But a money shortage (i.e., no budget) is simple and works well.

The Amtrak Bridge over the Susquehanna River.

So instead, we have a convoluted system requiring buttons and flashing lights and nerves of steel. Or so I thought. I have nerves of steel, at least for now. The buttons and lights and warning signs are provided courtesy of the MTA (the Maryland Transportation Authority)!

The early approach to the US-40 crossing. Note the signage for the bike route and the option of getting cab service across . . . at great expense, I'm sure. The barrels are for a temporary lane closure for maintenance activities.

So the crossing was a piece of cake. Although they have signs on the approach that say no bicycles Monday through Friday, I ignored them and pushed the button for the flashing lights, although they were flashing already. I presumed there must be cyclists on the bridge ahead of me, so Tally Ho!

The "beg" button, which is needed to get "permission" to cross the bridge over the Susquehanna River.

So I proceeded! But this was not a "normal" crossing. One lane was closed for maintenance activity at the top of the span, with a Maryland State Trooper in the closed lane with his cherry lights on. I could see all of this in the distance as I climbed the approach spans in the closed lane.

This was the easy part, climbing the approach spans in a protected lane!

Here I am approaching the state police patrol car with flashing lights and the maintenance crew beyond. I took the pictures while riding, so the quality is not the best (no zoom).

When I got to the police cruiser with flashing lights, I just checked behind me and saw no traffic (literally), changed to the left lane (he was blocking the right), and biked by him without incident. I returned to the closed right lane but went back out again to get around the maintenance crew. After that, the cones disappeared, and I just remained in the center of the right lane, which is where you are supposed to ride.

Now, beyond the closed lane, I was on my own. It felt a little unnerving, and when I heard large trucks coming up from behind, there was a strong tendency to move to the right, but I resisted the temptation.

Mind you, I had put on all my lights and was wearing a bright red jersey. I was not going to be "overlooked."

And I wasn't! It was really a breeze. No one cut close, and there was no horn blowing or yelling out of windows. And, by the way, occupying the center of the lane IS the safest place to be (in many situations where clearances are tight). And MTA has put up plenty of signs to warn you about bridge joints and whatnot. This being a hot day, the joints were closed pretty tight. In cooler weather, they should be navigated with care.

Every expansion joint in the bridge deck had a sign warning cyclists to be careful. Being a hot day, the joints were closed pretty tight. If it had been a normal — or even cold — day, there would have been a significant gap in the joint that thin tires might have trouble navigating.

At the toll booth, I had a nice chat with the attendant. I couldn't negotiate a discount on the $8.00 toll, but I did ask how many cyclists she had seen that day, and she said a lot. She also wanted to know why we were on the bridge since we were only supposed to be using it on weekends. I mentioned I saw the signs and found it confusing because all the press releases and news articles I had seen indicated open use any day of the week until 3:00 PM and even later on Saturdays and Sundays!

So while we weren't stopped, I wonder what would have happened if we had been southbound and were stopped at the toll booth and refused permission to cross?

I asked her why there was a restriction, and she cited safety reasons due to the volume of truck traffic during weekdays. In reality (OMG), I found out later that the new service is not effective till July 1, 2017!!!!

Well, that was news to me, and apparently many others. (But wait! More on that later!)

As I eased into Perryville, making a right to continue on the East Coast Greenway on my way to North East, MD, guess who I ran into? Well, Happy, of course. Both our jaws dropped. How did you get here before me? One of the mysteries of life!

Postscript: I later did a time analysis of our two routes. Happy was not as far behind me as I thought. Maybe I lingered longer than I realized at the three locations where I stopped. But my last stop, at the approach to the bridge, was for maybe ten minutes. I was just off the road a bit and had my back to the roadway, and that is where I think Happy passed me. I'm sure he was focused on the bridge crossing. And that makes sense, as the lights were flashing when I went to cross. I suspect Happy activated the lights and proceeded like I did, but ahead of me, allowing me to catch up with him in Perryville right after the crossing.

Further Postscript: I later did research on the US-40 crossing. Bikes were originally permitted to cross the bridge seven days a week starting on July 1, 2016. Unbeknownst to us, that decision was reversed in September 2016, and bikes were limited to weekends and state holidays. There was much press about the original decision and very little about the second. Further, MTA has a press release floating out there dated June 10, 2017 (a pre-dated press release?) reminding people that come July 1, the bridge will be open to cyclists. I suspect that press release should have been dated June 10, 2016! Sloppy work! Then I found this news article. Well, that cleared the air, but by then we were already across, along with many others!

It's also a stupid decision. As if this somehow balances the interests of locals and the cycling community! All this will do is push weekday cyclists back to the US-1, Conowingo Dam crossing. Hardly a "safer" crossing, given the two-lane roadway and lack of warning signs, and now lights are installed on the four-lane US-40 crossing. Provincial, petty, and selfish interests outweigh the greater good.

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