Assurances the bridge is safe no longer are enough, said Sen. E.J. Pipkin, R-Elkton, who will send the request to the Maryland Transportation Authority.

"We've been told for months now that everything is safe," he said. "Now the question is why didn't we know (about the corrosion) and what else don't we know."

The senator, whose district includes the part of the bridge under construction, also plans to introduce legislation next session to start the environmental and regulatory review process for building another span. Mr. Pipkin hopes it will resolve the perennial question of whether a third crossing can be built.

The safety of the Bay Bridge has been under renewed scrutiny since a fatal crash Aug. 10, when a tractor-trailer traveling on the eastbound span swerved to avoid another car, crashed through the Jersey walls near Kent Island and fell into the water below. The truck driver was killed.

After the crash, inspections of the bridge using ground-penetrating radar revealed that some internal steel U-bolts that attach the concrete barriers to the eastbound span were corroding. Emergency repairs began Monday and could take up to 10 weeks, depending on whether more corrosion is found.

Transportation officials continually have said the bridge is safe and is inspected once a year even though federal regulations require inspections only once every two years. The corrosion would not have been detected during routine inspections, officials said.

But the fact the corrosion was discovered only after a historic accident is troubling, Mr. Pipkin said.

"What else are they missing?" he said. "It turns out these assurances have been empty."

MdTA had not received the senator's request yesterday and Cheryl Sparks, a spokesman, declined to comment until it is received.

Third span

Adding another bridge to connect the eastern and western portions of Maryland has been a long-running, and oft passed-on, debate.

Recent studies have projected the amount of traffic on the Bay Bridge will increase significantly in coming years. Rush-hour traffic will double by 2030, according to a report released last year by the MdTA. A typical summer weekend day would see 109,600 vehicles by then. Average traffic per day now is 74,000.

Legislation proposed by Mr. Pipkin would begin the National Environmental Policy Act process, which coordinates 17 federal and 12 state agencies to study and decide whether a third span can be built. The process looks at everything from natural and cultural resources to the permits and approvals that are necessary.

"We need to start to address the long-term issue," he said. "Basically, what we have is powers-that-be sticking their head in the sand."

But Gov. Martin O'Malley and his administration have remained firm that building a new bridge over the Chesapeake Bay would cost too much and damage the quality of life on the Eastern Shore.

The state Department of Transportation has been studying the feasibility of creating a ferry service and whether to institute variable pricing of Bay Bridge tolls to encourage people to travel at less busy times. Transportation officials frequently point out that building a bridge would require other extensive infrastructure work such as having to widen surrounding roads.

Given the state's tough financial situation, it will be difficult for the General Assembly to make any movements on building another span, said Sen. Ed DeGrange, Sr., D-Glen Burnie, who heads the transportation subcommittee on the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.

"The initiative, I think, would have to come from the administration," he said after the Aug. 10 crash.

But Sen. John Astle, D-Annapolis, whose district also includes the Bay Bridge, said the legislature should get things moving.

"I don't think there is any question (a third span is needed)," he said. "Everybody loves to talk theory, because then you don't have to hold your feet to the fire."

Infrastructure in general is going to be a growing issue, Mr. Astle said, as the state's transportation network ages and money becomes more scarce.

"It's going to be a constant problem," he said.

A first step would be to make sure every dollar that is supposed to go toward transportation projects stays for transportation projects, said Del. Ron George, R-Arnold. Although the state boosted its transportation trust fund with new sales tax revenue during last fall's special session, it took less than a year for some of the new money to be skimmed off for other losses.

"We're supposed to be doing things 10 years in advance, and we are not," Mr. George said. "We are not proactive enough."