12-05-2025
Roadwork on Route 50 bridge to Ocean City, Maryland, will go into summer: What to know
Roadwork repairs will continue on the Route 50 Harry W. Kelley Memorial Bridge over the Sinepuxent Bay into Ocean City, Maryland, this summer season.
The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration announced the continuation of the multi-phased rehabilitation repairs in a May 5 news release. This phase of work, which includes concrete repairs, is anticipated to be completed by summer 2026, weather permitting.
Built in 1942, the 80-plus-year-old bridge is the primary entrance to downtown Ocean City — which becomes flooded with visitors each summer.
According to the MDOT-SHA, the structure is long and requires regular maintenance and repairs to keep it in a state of good repair, as well as maintain reliability. The bridge has approximately 1,663 drawbridge openings each year, making it one of the busiest moveable bridges in the state.
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The ongoing rehabilitation repairs will be centered on:
the underside of the bridge;
flaking and deteriorating concrete;
and sidewalks approaching and on the bridge.
"These repairs are necessary to ensure the safety of the marine traffic underneath, keep the bridge in a state of good repair, extend the service life of the structure and ensure the reliability of the bridge for travelers," the release stated.
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Drivers can expect off-peak daytime lane closures Mondays through Fridays from 4-11 a.m. These lane closures are needed for material deliveries, to stage equipment and to collect demolition debris.
The SHA will closely monitor traffic volumes and adjust lane closures as needed to manage construction-related delays. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic approaching and, on the bridge, will be maintained during the rehabilitation work.
The SHA will also suspend lane closures during large Ocean City-based events. Motorists may want to consider using Route 90 (Ocean City Expressway) as an alternate route to avoid the busy work zone.
The project will continue into this upcoming winter, when crews will make metal repairs to the drawspan section of the bridge. In winter 2026/2027, crews will paint and coat the metal surfaces of the structure to keep environmental elements from corroding the bridge. Bridge pier repairs are expected to follow.
Throughout the rehabilitation repair process, contractor Covington Machine and Welding will use barrels and cones to direct motorists through the work zone. Arrow panels and variable message boards will alert motorists to the lane closures and changing traffic patterns, the release stated.
Crews will use normal jack hammers and hydrodemolition, a technique which uses high-pressure water to extract loose pieces of concrete, to accelerate the project. This innovative process along with the use of an under bridge platform will speed up the concrete work and reduce the impacts to traffic, the SHA said.
Additional information about the rehabilitation work is available on the project's portal website. For a list of all major State Highway Administration projects, go to Project Portal, or visit the homepage at roa For a look at real-time traffic conditions, go to
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Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her with tips and story ideas at ominzola@
This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Route 50 bridge into Ocean City to face roadwork this summer
