Eastbound Salisbury Bypass To Ocean City Reopens For Beach Traffic

SALSIBURY, MD — A major road leading to Ocean City that had been closed for emergency repairs will reopen early Friday morning, according to Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration. Eastbound US 50 and US 13 Bypass at US 50 Business (Salisbury Boulevard) was closed Tuesday because of pavement damage and drainage erosion, while the right lane was already closed at the same location for a pipe repair.

Just in time for weekend beach traffic, the eastbound US 50 Salisbury Bypass will reopen at 6 a.m. Friday. The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration and Corman Construction have been working overnight and through rain since Tuesday to repair the roadway following an emergency closure.

Crews excavated more than 10 feet beneath the eastbound roadway just east of Northwood Drive to replace wet and loose fill material. The area was patched with asphalt Thursday morning and drain pipe repairs have been ongoing through the day and will be completed by Thursday night.

The closure was necessary to ensure public safety when heavy rains last weekend accelerated erosion around a drain pipe, creating voids under both eastbound lanes.

“Our thanks to Corman Construction for stepping up to perform this work on very short notice,” said District Engineer Jay Meredith. Corman is the contractor for the Salisbury Bypass 11-bridge rehabilitation project, and “when we realized Tuesday this was going to be an emergency closure with substantial public impact we asked Corman for help and they responded,” continued Meredith. “They know how important this road is to Salisbury and they didn’t hesitate to bring personnel and equipment on site to get the job done and help us get the Bypass reopened as quickly as possible.”

Nearly 40,000 vehicles travel this part of the Salisbury Bypass each day and traffic volumes can be substantially higher during summer weekends due to beach traffic.

Follow TheMDTA on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with emergency closures. Drivers can also call I-877-BAYSPAN (229-7726) and listen to BAYSPAN Online.

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MDOT SHA photo: Worker checking the pavement repair.

(MDOT SHA photo: Crews finishing up concrete curbs.