Chesapeake Bay Bridge - Bay Bridge Walk and Run

Bay Bridge Walk and Run

While there are no pedestrian facilities on the bridge, the Bay Bridge Walk and Governor's Bay Bridge Run afford an opportunity to cross the bridge on foot, usually on the first Sunday in May. The events take place on the eastbound span, which is closed to vehicles while two-way traffic shares the westbound span. Participants start on the east end of the bridge (on Kent Island) and proceed west to the finish near the toll plaza. WMATA and MTA transit buses transport participants between outlying parking areas and the start and finish points.

The run, a 10K race across the bridge, is held early in the morning before the walk. It is conducted by the Annapolis Striders, a local running organization, and controlled by the MdTA and Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Proceeds go to the Chesapeake Bay Trust in support of the bay.

The walk was first held in 1975, after a Boy Scout leader in Towson asked then-Governor Marvin Mandel if his troop could walk across the bridge while it was closed for maintenance. The annual walk was canceled for the first time in 1980 due to poor weather conditions, and later saw frequent cancellations throughout the 2000s. During this period the walk was canceled in:

• 2002 and 2007 due to poor weather conditions.
• 2003 and 2005 due to security concerns.
• 2008, 2009, and 2010 due to construction activity in the area on the west side of the bridge where participants would otherwise be staged. Fiscal concerns were also cited as a contributing factor to the 2010 cancellation.
• 2011 due to fiscal concerns.
• 2012 for undisclosed reasons.

Following its cancellation in 2005, the MDTA considered decreasing the annual frequency of the event, citing traffic, fiscal, manpower, and security concerns. The most recent event (held in 2006) cost over $350,000, and the cost estimate for 2012 was almost $400,000. In late 2011, a non-profit group, the Greater Washington Sports Alliance (GWSA), approached the MdTA Capital Committee to propose sponsoring the event, along with a concert at Sandy Point State Park, at no cost to the MdTA. While the Capital Committee unanimously recommended that the MdTA Board approve the proposal contingent upon an agreement between the GWSA and the MdTA, the 2012 event was ultimately cancelled.