Baltimore County's collapsed 1879 truss bridge won't be rebuilt before 2030

The metal truss bridge dated to 1879, and the Maryland Historical Trust counts it among the state's historic bridges. It carried one lane over a stream that feeds Big Gunpowder Falls. In October 2025 a fallen tree leaned on the span and weakened it, and it gave way under a septic truck. Nobody was hurt, and county police cleared the truck of blame, the Banner reported.

A year on, the project is still in design. The county Department of Public Works and Transportation won $830,000 in federal money for the first design phase, spokesman Ron Snyder told the paper, but the full rebuild is estimated at about $5 million and the county still has to find the rest. The schedule allows four years from design to completion: construction starts no earlier than 2030, and the bridge opens sometime from summer 2030 to spring 2031. Before any of that, Snyder said, the department must apply for more funding, hire a design firm, clear environmental reviews and work through permits.

Lane count is the other dispute. The county's project page says current design codes call for two lanes, so keeping one would take a design exception, and Snyder said the county would seek a federal waiver if needed. A prefabricated bridge was ruled out over long-term upkeep costs. Residents told a September town hall they want a one-lane replacement, and Snyder said the county has not settled the question.

Before the collapse, the State Highway Administration estimated 2,485 vehicles used that stretch of Carroll Road. Its January 2020 count peaked at 303 northbound vehicles at 5 p.m. One neighbor said the detour adds at least 20 minutes to her trips and pushes traffic onto Sparks Road, and the manager of a farm store north of the bridge said new customers have dropped off.