Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Maryland
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 38° 59.544 W 076° 22.575
18S E 380812 N 4316833
These two suspension bridges span the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis and appear on the “Greetings from Maryland” postage stamp.
Waymark Code: WMMP8Q
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 10/18/2014
Views: 11
When this bridge was completed in 1952, it was the third longest bridge in the world. It was built at the narrowest point of the Chesapeake Bay connecting Anne Arundel County near Sandy Point on the western side with Kent Island in Queen Anne’s County on the eastern side (over four miles). It consisted of a suspension bridge spanning the western shipping channel and a cantilever bridge spanning the eastern shipping channel. The curve in the bridge is due to government regulations requiring bridges to cross shipping channels at right angles.
Originally, the bridge consisted of a single span carrying two lanes of traffic. A second span was added about 20 years later adding three more traffic lanes. It was built to the north of the existing span and of very similar design. (The slight differences in design were due to changing construction standards.)
The legislation authorizing construction of the bridge was passed in 1947. William Preston Lane Jr. was the governor of Maryland at that time and a major proponent of the bridge’s construction. When the former governor died in 1967, the bridge was renamed the William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge in his honor.
The image on the stamp shows only a portion of the suspension bridges as seen (more or less) from Sandy Point State Park near the western terminus. The stamp is from the “Greetings from America” sheet of 50 different designs each showing a post card like image from all 50 states. In addition to the bridges over Chesapeake Bay, the stamp shows a blue crab found in Chesapeake Bay.
Stamp Issuing Country: United States
Date of Issue: 4-Apr-2002
Denomination: 34 cents
Color: multicolored
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: Not listed
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