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- "Severn River Bridge" redirects here, for the southern crossing of the Severn River, see Naval Academy Bridge.
The Severn River Bridge, officially known as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, is a bridge that crosses the Severn River northwest of the city limits of Annapolis, Maryland. The bridge serves as part of the John Hanson Highway, which is signed as U.S. Route 50 and U.S. Route 301. Maryland Route 2 also traverses the bridge, but no Maryland Route 2 signs exist along the section of highway the route traverses. Route 2 splits off US 50/301 east of the bridge and becomes Governor Ritchie Highway, and to the west it leaves the highway along Solomons Island Road. The bridge serves as the main connection between Annapolis and points east, including the Eastern Shore via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, however, unlike the rest of US 50/301 in the area, the bridge lacks shoulders and is often a point of traffic congestion.
[edit] History
The first road bridge across the Severn River was a drawbridge built in the late 1920s. The bridge served as part of Maryland Route 2 and later U.S. Route 50 after the later route was extended across the Chesapeake Bay. When the John Hanson Highway was built, the current Severn River Bridge was built to carry it across the river. Originally, the bridge carried only 4 lanes, but was later expanded to 6 when the surrounding parts of the highway were upgraded, leaving the bridge without shoulders [1]. In 1994, the original bridge was replaced with the Naval Academy Bridge. The Severn River Bridge was officially renamed the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge in December of 2006 in honor of the 65th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
