Bridge cost could exceed $1 billion

7 Nice options being considered

Friday, Sept. 4, 2009

All it will take is a little patience and $1 billion.

Motorists looking for a quicker commute across the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge — and the bicyclists and pedestrians eager for safe passage across the Potomac River — could have their wishes granted in little over a decade.

On Tuesday, the Charles County commissioners received an update on the Nice Bridge Improvement Project from Maryland Transportation Authority officials, and learned that just planning for routine maintenance on the bridge and ignoring any new engineering plans would put a $110 million price tag on the 70-year-old link between Southern Maryland and Virginia.

"While in this day and time we're getting used to talking in terms of billions of dollars instead of millions of dollars, that's an extraordinary amount of money to build a new bridge across the river," said Commissioner Gary V. Hodge (D).

"One of the project needs is the fact that we recognized in the 2015-2020 time-frame that the bridge will need to be re-decked," said Glen Smith, a project manager for the Maryland Transportation Authority. "We recognize there will be major maintenance of traffic issues associated with that; so that's what's driving trying to determine the appropriate solution here and secure funding to provide that."

In a matter of years, explained Shawn Burnett, a consultant to the transportation authority, there will be a serious need to tend to the fatigue of the roadway. Every 40 years redecking is required, and the last time this was done on the Nice bridge was in 1985.

Charles County Commissioner Samuel N. Graves Jr. (D) inquired about the current safety of the bridge aside from resurfacing, which Smith assured him was constantly being tested for driver well-being. Results of the ongoing tests will be made available at public hearings scheduled on options for the bridge, the project manager said. The hearings are set Sept. 17 in Newburg and Sept. 24 in Dahlgren, Va.

Faced with unavoidable maintenance and a growing volume of commuters, Maryland Transportation Authority has been planning and studying engineering options and gathering input from residents and government leaders on the best solution to satisfy safety concerns and the desire for smooth car trips.

What makes MdTA's ability to sign off on checks unique is that it is not a part of the Transportation Trust Fund, Smith said. While agencies such as the State Highway Administration receive trust fund money — including capital from gasoline sales and vehicle registration — the revenue MdTA accumulates comes strictly from tolls.

According to information provided by the transportation authority's communications office, there are seven toll facilities in Maryland. For fiscal 2008, the operating revenue for MdTA was $401 million and expenses totaled $276 million.

"When we accumulate tolls from all our facilities, we then spend that money based on where the greatest need is," Smith said.

What the county commissioners were presented with earlier this week was a list of seven options for the bridge, and a preview of what the public will be invited to see in the next few weeks during public hearings in Virginia and Maryland.

While leaving the bridge width untouched and building a separate four-lane structure are on the farthest ends of the option spectrum, there are also options where the existing structure could continue to be used or could be retired.

The second alternate plan is to fix up the existing bridge for southbound traffic and build a new two-lane bridge for northbound motorists. The third alternate would be to construct a new bridge for northbound motorists, but instead of retaining the original Nice bridge, engineers would replace the existing structure with a newer crossover for southbound traffic. Within both of these plans, the new bridge for northbound traffic would be built south of the existing bridge, and run between the Dahlgren Naval Support Facility and Morgantown Power Plant.

Alternate plans five and six include constructing a new two-lane bridge north of the existing Nice bridge — between Barnesfield and Wayside parks and Aqua-Land Marina and Campground. The former also includes plans to rehabilitate the old structure while plan five would replace the bridge entirely.

Plans to take out the Nice bridge and replace it with a four-lane bridge are also in the works, and there is still discussion on whether that new bridge would be built to the north or south of the existing overpass.

Gary Wagner, a spokesman for the naval support facility in Dahlgren, said the base is 100 percent behind the expansion, as long as the option is not one that requires building to the south of the existing bridge.

"We've communicated to the Maryland Transportation Authority we do not support any of the southern options," Wagner said. "They would require the Navy granting an easement, because our property line goes right to the highway."

Wagner said the Navy uses the Nice bridge just as frequently as other commuters and so traffic flow and safety are important. But with some of the alternatives directing the expansion to flow directly onto the base, that means a "clear impact on the mission and activities located in that area."

Wagner said an easement between 50 and 200 feet has been suggested as necessary should a southern build option be chosen.

Regardless of what option is chosen, if the MdTA can't get funding past the planning phase, the project will grind to a halt.

"Our six-year capital program for fiscal 2009-14 includes $3.82 billion worth of safety, preservation and improvement projects," wrote Kelly L. Melhem, deputy director of communications, in an e-mail. "During this six-year period, $5 million has been budgeted for the Nice bridge study and project planning."

"If we could somehow identify some preliminary engineering work so we could continue some of the engineering … although it would not be enough to take it through the entire engineering phase, it may keep the project moving," Smith said. "We are investigating public-private partnerships and potential federal revenue sources, but … if there are no additional sources beyond what it is today the project would not progress beyond project planning."

Though cognizant Maryland has the lion's share of financial responsibility for the bridge update, Chairman of King George's County Board of Supervisors Joseph Grzeika said doing something about the link between the two counties is no longer an option, but a critical need.

"We're totally supportive," Grzeika said of the plans, especially the four-lane alternatives. "You can't take an old bridge and make it a good bridge. I wish there was a five-lane option."

Like the Charles County commissioners, Grzeika said he is well aware of the traffic jams that occur on either side of the bridge at the beginning and end of a weekend; and that's not counting the importance of the bridge during an emergency evacuation or a timely commute for residents who contribute to either state's economy.

Charles County commissioners' President F. Wayne Cooper (D) inquired about the lifespan of a bridge like the one spanning the Potomac, and Burnett answered its use was indefinite as long as continual repairs were made above and below water level, and safety tests were passed.

When asked by the commissioners' president how long a normal engineering phase was, Smith said a ballpark number was three years, during which time right of way acquisition was acted upon.

Building the bridge itself will take close to four years, the project manager said, which means county commuters are looking at a 12-year wait before a new bridge is built.

"That means resurfacing would have to be done before the bridge was done," Cooper said. "That's a shame. That's sort of a waste of taxpayers' money, unless you're going to keep the existing bridge; and once you do it, it's for 40 years."

msomers@somdnews.com