Submitted by the Chesapeake Section

Project Description

The Nice-Middleton Bridge project replaced an existing 1.9-mile-long, 2-lane bridge over the Potomac River with a new 61-foot-wide, 4-lane concrete and steel bridge built to alleviate traffic congestion and enhance safety for inspectors and traveling public. The project included construction of approximately 0.5 miles of roadway approaches, Lane Use Signals (LUS) through complex Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) design, associated landscape, electrical, utility relocation, stormwater management and drainage design.
The project includes 12-foot wide lanes and shoulders on each side to improve safety and facilitate access for emergency response, maintenance, and wide load vehicles. A median barrier has been added to prevent cross-over vehicular crashes. The new bridge accommodates cyclists with ITS and
bicycle-safe expansion joints, and includes cameras for traffic monitoring and quick emergency response. It also provides a navigational vertical clearance of 135 feet, enabling tall ships to pass underneath, and more gradual vertical grades to allow vehicles to maintain a safe, consistent speed.
The bridge LUS ITS design includes contraflow configurations, that will safely direct all four lanes of traffic towards Maryland or Virginia in evacuation scenarios.