text: Construction of 1952 span A 1938 proposal by the Maryland General Assembly was the first to call for a bridge at the Sandy Point–Kent Island location. Although the legislation authorizing the new bridge passed, the involvement of the United States in World War II delayed the bridge's construction. In 1947, with the war over, the Assembly, under the leadership of Maryland Governor William Preston Lane Jr., (1892–1967), passed legislation directing the old State Roads Commission to begin construction. Ground was broken in January 1949, and after a -year construction project, the bridge opened to traffic on July 30, 1952, as both the longest continuous over-water steel structure, and the third longest bridge in the world. Before the opening, a parade of vehicles made the first official crossing, led by then current Governor Theodore Roosevelt McKeldin, (1900–1974), and other state officials in a distinctive white Cadillac convertible flying huge American and Maryland flags. On November 9, 1967, the bridge was dedicated to Governor Lane, who had died earlier that year, and officially renamed the "William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge".
  1973 expansion
  In 1967, due to increasing traffic volume, the Maryland General Assembly authorized three possible new crossings, all suggested during the 1964 Chesapeake Bay crossing study. These included one further north near Baltimore, one in southern Maryland, and an additional span to be added to the existing bridge from Kent Island to Sandy Point; ultimately, the third option was chosen. Construction of the new parallel span began in 1969 to the north of the original bridge, and it was completed on June 28, 1973.