Skip to main content

Maryland's Nice/Middleton Bridge Replacement Project Nears the Finish Line

Image
By

 


Down on the lower Potomac River south of Washington, D.C. and near the Chesapeake Bay, an internationally-renowned contracting team is building the next large-scale bridge project in the state’s history. The existing Nice/Middleton Bridge (officially the “Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial/Senator Thomas "Mac" Middleton Bridge”) carrying U.S. Route 301 across the Potomac between Newburg, MD and Dahlgren, VA is being replaced with a new structure intended to better serve the high traffic demands of the present and future.

The name of this bridge has changed multiple times over the years. When it was dedicated in 1940, it was known simply as the Potomac River Bridge (a name folks still use to describe it, even today). In 1967, the bridge was renamed in honor of Harry W. Nice, who served as Governor of Maryland from 1935-39 and was instrumental in approving the funding necessary to build the bridge. In 2018, the bridge's name was modified once again to honor Thomas Middleton, who served as a State Senator in the Maryland Legislature from 1995-2019, representing the state's 28th district in southern Charles County, where the bridge is located.

Above: The old Nice/Middleton Bridge (photographed here in 2015) was completed in 1940 and is a vital traffic artery along the US Route 301 corridor east of Washington, D.C.
Below: The old Nice/Middleton Bridge (photographed here in 2015) features narrow roadways and no shoulders, sometimes making for a intimidating experience for drivers.

Under the guidance of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) and Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), a $463 million design-build contract was awarded to the contracting joint venture team of Skanska-Corman-McLean (SCM). Since Maryland owns all of the Potomac River up to the low tide line on the Virginia shore, that agency is responsible for nearly all costs associated with the project. (Virginia has supplied a relatively small amount of funding for the improved US Route 301 approach roads in Dahlgren.) The scope of the project is highlighted by the replacement of the existing bridge with a new four-lane bridge, designed to improve traffic flow and overall safety across the Potomac. Unlike the existing bridge, which does not have any barriers separating oncoming traffic, a concrete median divider will be built along with the new bridge’s deck. The new bridge’s four lane deck will accommodate the ever-increasing traffic demands of the 301 corridor while also providing a bit more margin for error for drivers as opposed to the existing bridge’s narrow roadway.

Above: The existing Nice/Middleton Bridge stands guard as its replacement takes shape a short distance upstream.
Below: The new Nice/Middleton Bridge nears completion in these June 2022 photos

Construction of the bridge began in July 2020 and it is expected to be opened in early 2023. Upon completion of the new structure, the old bridge will be closed and demolished. Pieces of the old bridge's concrete and steel superstructure will be recycled for use in the creation of new artificial reefs around the lower Chesapeake Bay nearby.

The following pictures of the existing Nice/Middleton Bridge were taken by the author of this post. Click on each photo to see a larger version.

The following pictures of the construction site were taken by the author of this post using a DJI quadcopter drone. Always use proper judgment and situational awareness when flying in areas such as this. Click on each photo to see a larger version.


Virginia DOT website devoted to the Project

How to Get There:
Labels:
Location: Newburg, MD 20664, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trimmer Springs Road (Fresno County)

By
Trimmer Springs Road is an approximately forty-mile rural highway located in Fresno County.  The corridor begins near in California State Route 180 in Centerville and extends to Blackrock Road at the Kings River in the Sierra Nevada range near the Pacific Gas & Electric Company town of Balch Camp. The roadway is named after the former Trimmer Springs Resort and was originally constructed to facilitate access to the Sanger Log Flume.  Trimmer Springs Road was heavily modified and elongated after construction of Pine Flat Dam broke ground in 1947.   Part 1; the history of Trimmer Springs Road Much of the original alignment of Trimmer Springs Road was constructed to facilitate access to the Sanger Log Flume.   The  Kings River Lumber Company  had been established in 1888 in the form of a 30,000-acre purchase of forest lands in Converse Basin.  This purchase lied immediately west of Grant Grove and came to be known as "Millwood."  The co...
Post a Comment
Read more

When was Ventura Avenue east of downtown Fresno renamed to Kings Canyon Road? (California State Route 180)

By
California State Route 180 was one of the original Sign State Routes designated in August 1934.  The highway east of Fresno originally utilized what was Ventura Avenue and Dunlap Road to reach what was then General Grant National Park.  By late year 1939 the highway was extended through the Kings River Canyon to Cedar Grove.   In 1940 General Grant National Park would be expanded and rebranded as Kings Canyon National Park.  The Kings Canyon Road designation first appeared in publications circa 1941 when the California State Route 180 bypass of Dunlap was completed.  Kings Canyon Road ultimately would replace the designation of Dunlap Road from Dunlap to Centerville and Ventura Avenue west to 1st Street in Fresno.   The Kings Canyon Road would remain largely intact until March 2023 when the Fresno Council designated Cesar Chavez Boulevard.  Cesar Chavez Boulevard was designated over a ten-mile corridor over what was Kings Canyon Road, remaini...
Post a Comment
Read more

Interstate 99 at 30

By
When it comes to the entirety of the Interstate Highway System, Interstate 99, when fully completed, is nothing more than 161 miles of a roughly 48,000-mile system (0.3% of total length).  Yet, to more than just a handful of people, the number '99' rubs them the wrong way. Interstate 99 follows the path of two US Highway Routes - US 220 from the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bedford north to Interstate 80 and then to US 15/Interstate 180 in Williamsport.  It then follows US 15 from Williamsport north to Interstate 86 in Corning, New York. Interstate 99 runs with US 220 through much of Central Pennsylvania. (Doug Kerr) US 220 from Cumberland, Maryland to Interstate 80 and US 15 north of Williamsport were designated part of the Appalachian Highway System in 1965.  Construction to upgrade both corridors progressed steadily but slowly.  In 1991, the two corridors were included as a National High Priority Corridor.  The route from Cumberland to Corning consisted of High P...
Post a Comment
Read more