Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge - Revision history

Admin: /* Photo Gallery */

2008-12-07T21:35:10Z

‎Photo Gallery

Admin: /* References */

2008-12-07T21:31:42Z

‎References

Admin: /* Problems */

2008-12-07T21:24:42Z

‎Problems

Admin: /* External links */

2008-12-07T21:22:37Z

‎External links

Admin at 21:21, 7 December 2008

2008-12-07T21:21:53Z

Admin: /* Problems */ Added photo.

2008-12-07T21:20:14Z

‎Problems: Added photo.

Admin at 21:09, 7 December 2008

2008-12-07T21:09:37Z

Admin: Added Google Map.

2008-12-07T21:09:07Z

Added Google Map.

Admin at 21:06, 7 December 2008

2008-12-07T21:06:58Z

Admin at 21:05, 7 December 2008

2008-12-07T21:05:20Z

@@ Line 71: / Line 71: @@
 Image:Thomas-Johnson-bridge-4.jpg|Seen from Calvert County.
 Image:Thomas-Johnson-bridge-5.jpg|Seen from Calvert County boat ramp, down river.
-Image:Thomas-Johnson-bridge-6.jpg|Seen from Calvert County, up river.
+Image:Thomas-Johnson-bridge-6.jpg|Seen from Calvert County fishing pier, up river.
 </gallery>

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:31, 7 December 2008
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	As of September 2007, a study to determine whether the bridge should be expanded or replaced is being debated by Maryland governmental officials.		As of September 2007, a study to determine whether the bridge should be expanded or replaced is being debated by Maryland governmental officials.
		+
		+	== Photo Gallery==
		+
		+	<gallery>
		+	Image:Thomas-Johnson-bridge-3.jpg\|Close-up photo of the braces installed at the top of the piers.
		+	Image:Thomas-Johnson-bridge-4.jpg\|Seen from Calvert County.
		+	Image:Thomas-Johnson-bridge-5.jpg\|Seen from Calvert County boat ramp, down river.
		+	Image:Thomas-Johnson-bridge-6.jpg\|Seen from Calvert County, up river.
		+	</gallery>

	==References==		==References==

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 The Thomas Johnson Bridge itself can be categorized as both a beam bridge and an arch bridge. Massive concrete pilings hold the bridge up over the river.
-==Problems==
+==Problems & Issues==
 [[Image:Thomas-Johnson-bridge-2.jpg|right|thumbnail|These braces were installed in 1988 to prevent the piers from failing.  The highest piers have significantly more braces than shown here.]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:22, 7 December 2008
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	==External links==		==External links==
−	*[http://www.webshots.com/search?query=Thomas+Johnson+Bridge06 Greg's Solomons Island, Maryland pictures from cityscapes photos on webshots] Aerial view of the bridge
−	*[http://members.virtualtourist.com/vt/s/?m=6&l.q=c42df VirtualTourist.com] More pictures
−	*[http://www.pride2.org/NewPrideSite/MD/Logs/Log9.html Pride II Log - November 1, 1999] Describes bridge and surroundings
−
−	~~{{Crossings navbox~~
−	~~\|structure = Bridges~~
−	~~\|place = [[Patuxent River]]~~
−	~~\|bridge = Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge~~
−	~~\|bridge signs = [[Image:MD Route 4.svg\|20px]]~~
−	~~\|upstream text = North~~
−	~~\|upstream = [[Benedict Bridge]]~~
−	~~\|upstream signs = [[Image:MD Route 231.svg\|25px]]~~
−	~~\|downstream text = South~~
−	~~\|downstream = [[Chesapeake Bay]]~~
−	~~\|downstream signs =~~
−	}}
−
−	~~{{coord missing\|United States}}~~

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 The Thomas Johnson Bridge itself can be categorized as both a beam bridge and an arch bridge. Massive concrete pilings hold the bridge up over the river.
 [[Image:Thomas-Johnson-bridge-2.jpg|right|thumbnail|These braces were installed in 1988 to prevent the piers from failing.  The highest piers have significantly more braces than shown here.]]
 In the summer of 1988, cracks were found in the foundation of the Thomas Johnson Bridge, causing it to be closed for repairs over several months.<ref>{{cite web

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 The Thomas Johnson Bridge itself can be categorized as both a beam bridge and an arch bridge. Massive concrete pilings hold the bridge up over the river.
 ==Problems==
 In the summer of 1988, cracks were found in the foundation of the Thomas Johnson Bridge, causing it to be closed for repairs over several months.<ref>{{cite web
     |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1263729.html
@@ Line 44: / Line 46: @@
 People wishing to travel north into [[Calvert County]] were forced to make a half-hour detour to the [[Benedict Bridge]]. People wishing to travel south into [[St. Mary's County, Maryland|St. Mary's County]] were likewise forced to either utilize the [[Benedict Bridge]] or take a free charter boat across the [[Patuxent River]] to a park and ride lot on the southern side.
-[[As of September 2007]], there has been much talk and public debate over either expanding the Thomas Johnson Bridge by adding a parallel span, or replacing the bridge with a four-lane bridge all together. The reasons for such proposals are two-fold. First, the recent increase in the amount of traffic of commuters traveling to and from the [[Naval Air Station Patuxent River|Patuxent River Naval Air Station]] in [[Lexington Park, Maryland|Lexington Park]] has made the the two-lane, single span bridge outdated for all intents and purposes. Traffic on the bridge during [[rush hour]] can cause back-ups all the way back to the [[Maryland Route 235|Route 235]] intersection, and instances where there is an accident on the bridge itself can cause total gridlock.{{fact|date=September 2007}}
+As of September 2007, there has been much talk and public debate over either expanding the Thomas Johnson Bridge by adding a parallel span, or replacing the bridge with a four-lane bridge all together. The reasons for such proposals are two-fold. First, the recent increase in the amount of traffic of commuters traveling to and from the [[Naval Air Station Patuxent River|Patuxent River Naval Air Station]] in [[Lexington Park, Maryland|Lexington Park]] has made the the two-lane, single span bridge outdated for all intents and purposes. Traffic on the bridge during rush hour can cause back-ups all the way back to the [[Maryland Route 235|Route 235]] intersection, and instances where there is an accident on the bridge itself can cause total gridlock.
 Secondly, the fear of more structural issues of the Thomas Johnson Bridge arising (such as the one in 1988), coupled with the apparent over-capacity use of the bridge on a daily basis, has caused some safety concerns about the bridge's stability.<ref>{{cite web
@@ Line 59: / Line 61: @@
     |publisher=Baltimore Sun
 }}</ref>
-These fears have grown substantially in the wake of the [[I-35W Mississippi River Bridge]] collapse in [[Minneapolis]] on August 1, 2007.
+These fears have grown substantially in the wake of the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge collapse in Minneapolis on August 1, 2007.
-[[As of September 2007]], a study to determine whether the bridge should be expanded or replaced is being debated by [[Maryland]] governmental officials.{{fact|date=September 2007}}
 ==References==

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 <googlemap version="0.9" lat="38.324824" lon="-76.466131" zoom="14" scale="yes" overview="yes">
 </googlemap>
 ==Description==

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:09, 7 December 2008
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	[[Maryland Route 4]] is the highway which crosses the Patuxent River at the Thomas Johnson Bridge. The north end of the bridge, on the Calvert side, is located in [[Solomons, Maryland\|Solomons]]. Just prior to the bridge, [[Maryland Route 4\|Route 2-4]] narrows from four lanes to two, and [[Maryland Route 2\|Route 2]] exits off under the bridge and heads toward downtown [[Solomons, Maryland\|Solomons]]. [[Maryland Route 4\|Route 4]] continues onto the bridge itself and over the [[Patuxent River]].		[[Maryland Route 4]] is the highway which crosses the Patuxent River at the Thomas Johnson Bridge. The north end of the bridge, on the Calvert side, is located in [[Solomons, Maryland\|Solomons]]. Just prior to the bridge, [[Maryland Route 4\|Route 2-4]] narrows from four lanes to two, and [[Maryland Route 2\|Route 2]] exits off under the bridge and heads toward downtown [[Solomons, Maryland\|Solomons]]. [[Maryland Route 4\|Route 4]] continues onto the bridge itself and over the [[Patuxent River]].
		+
		+	<googlemap version="0.9" lat="38.324824" lon="-76.466131" zoom="14" scale="yes" overview="yes">
		+	</googlemap>

	==Description==		==Description==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Image:Thomas-Johnson-bridge-1.jpg|right|thumbnail]]
+[[Image:Thomas-Johnson-bridge-1.jpg|right|thumbnail|The Thomas Johnson Bridge as seen from Solomons Island. Circa 2004.]]
 The '''Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge''' (also referred to as the '''Thomas Johnson Bridge''' and the '''Solomons Bridge''') is a one and a half mile long bridge in Maryland over the lower [[Patuxent River]] joining Calvert and St. Mary’s counties. The bridge, named for the first governor of Maryland,
 Thomas Johnson, was built in 1977, and officially opened in January 1978.<ref>{{cite web

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 The '''Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge''' (also referred to as the '''Thomas Johnson Bridge''' and the '''Solomons Bridge''') is a one and a half mile long bridge in Maryland over the lower [[Patuxent River]] joining Calvert and St. Mary’s counties. The bridge, named for the first governor of Maryland,
 Thomas Johnson, was built in 1977, and officially opened in January 1978.<ref>{{cite web
@@ Line 12: / Line 13: @@
 }}</ref>
-The bridge is one of two crossings of the [[Patuxent River]] in [[Southern Maryland]]. (The other is the [[Benedict Bridge]] approximately 20 miles up river, where [[Maryland Route 231]] connects [[Calvert County, Maryland|Calvert County]] and [[Charles County, Maryland|Charles County]].)
+The bridge is one of two crossings of the [[Patuxent River]] in Southern Maryland. (The other is the [[Benedict Bridge]] approximately 20 miles up river, where [[Maryland Route 231]] connects [[Calvert County, Maryland|Calvert County]] and [[Charles County, Maryland|Charles County]].)
-[[Maryland Route 4]] is the highway which crosses the [[Patuxent River|Patuxent]] at the Thomas Johnson Bridge. The north end of the bridge, on the Calvert side, is located in [[Solomons, Maryland|Solomons]]. Just prior to the bridge, [[Maryland Route 4|Route 2-4]] narrows from four lanes to two, and [[Maryland Route 2|Route 2]] exits off under the bridge and heads toward downtown [[Solomons, Maryland|Solomons]]. [[Maryland Route 4|Route 4]] continues onto the bridge itself and over the [[Patuxent River]].
+[[Maryland Route 4]] is the highway which crosses the Patuxent River at the Thomas Johnson Bridge. The north end of the bridge, on the Calvert side, is located in [[Solomons, Maryland|Solomons]]. Just prior to the bridge, [[Maryland Route 4|Route 2-4]] narrows from four lanes to two, and [[Maryland Route 2|Route 2]] exits off under the bridge and heads toward downtown [[Solomons, Maryland|Solomons]]. [[Maryland Route 4|Route 4]] continues onto the bridge itself and over the [[Patuxent River]].
 ==Description==
 The bridge itself only has two lanes but rises to a height of approximately 135 tall, making a trip over the bridge in windy weather somewhat nerve-wreaking for wary travelers. On the other hand, the view from the top of the bridge is quite impressive, as one can see the entire town of [[Solomons, Maryland|Solomons]], the runways at the [[Naval Air Station Patuxent River|Patuxent River Naval Air Station]], and the [[Chesapeake Bay]]. After reaching its apex, the bridge heads down to [[St. Mary's County, Maryland|St. Mary's County]]. However, the bridge does not end once it reaches the banks of the [[Patuxent River]], but rather continues for approximately a quarter of a mile over the tributary of Town Creek until finally reaching land on the south side. [[Maryland Route 4|Route 4]] remains a two-lane road from that point on, intersecting with [[Maryland Route 235]] approximately three miles south, and then continuing on to [[Leonardtown, Maryland|Leonardtown]] for ten more miles.