ANNAPOLIS, Md. — With vacation season in full swing, Maryland transportation officials are urging travelers to plan ahead before heading to the Eastern Shore, the mountains or beyond. From live traffic cameras to lane closure forecasts, the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) offers several tools to help motorists avoid delays and travel safely.
CHART and Maryland 511: Your Real-Time Road Companion
Maryland’s Coordinated Highways Action Response Team (CHART) system is the state’s official 511 Traveler Information Service, designed to provide drivers with current and reliable information.
The site includes:
- Live traffic cameras across major routes
- Interactive GIS mapping of roadway conditions
- Real-time traffic incidents and closures
- Highway message signs
- Speed sensor data
- Weather station updates
Bay Bridge Travelers: Know Before You Go
For those traveling to Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge remains a major congestion point. Drivers can:
- Dial 877-BAY-SPAN from a hands-free phone for live Bay Bridge traffic updates
- Visit chart.maryland.gov for live camera views and alerts
- Travel during off-peak hours — before 10 a.m. or after 10 p.m. on weekends — to avoid the worst backups
Find Out What’s Happening on Roads Near You
The MDOT SHA Project Portal is an interactive tool that lets you see roadwork, closures and major projects happening in your area — before heading out. Filter by county, route or project type and get detailed updates with links to timelines and traffic impacts.
Whether you’re commuting, traveling for vacation or just running errands, use the map to plan around:
- Active construction zones
- Lane and ramp closures
- Detour routes
- Long-term infrastructure projects
Maryland Travel Tools at a Glance
Whether you’re headed to the beach, the mountains or out of state, officials remind drivers to buckle up, plan ahead and allow extra time — especially on high-traffic weekends.
Local Traffic Cameras
Real-time views of local roads and bridges:
https://thebaynet.com/traffic-cams/
Traffic Cameras and Live Conditions
Real-time highway views, incident reports, speed sensors and weather alerts:
chart.maryland.gov
Lane Closures and Roadwork Forecasts
Find active construction updates and travel-impacting maintenance schedules:
roads.maryland.gov
Bay Bridge Traffic Hotline
Call for live updates on Chesapeake Bay Bridge traffic and lane status:
877-BAY-SPAN (877-229-7726)
SHA Project Portal: Southern Maryland and DC Region
Track construction projects, detours and transportation updates in your area:
mdot-sha-project-portal-maryland.hub.arcgis.com/pages/project-list-and-links#D5
For more summer safety tips, visit mdot.maryland.gov.
Contact our news desk at news@thebaynet.com
To all motorists, are you tired of traffic tie ups? Especially at the bay bridge, want to avoid that? They come from three lanes of traffic being funneled it to two lanes at the bridge. If everyone merges out of the fast lane into middle lane at least a mile before the bridge instead of waiting until you absolutely have to the traffic flow will not slow down everyone will keep doing their normal speed crossing the bridge. It is so simple even a cave man could do it. By doing your part you save everyone a half hour and a lot of aggravation.
Avoid bay bridge back ups by merging into the middle lane from the fast lane well before the bridge. There are only two lanes open at the bridge going west, so three lanes become two. If everyone waits until the last minute to merge traffic slows way down. If everyone merges at least a mile before the bridge traffic will have a clear path and will continue at its normal pace. Convince your friends and everyone you know and we will all save time and aggravation. It is so simple but so effective. Imagine no more backups heading home from Ocean City!