Car Shipping in Maryland

Good to know in Maryland

The things that actually move a pickup date here.

• The harbor crossing that vanished in 2024

  The Francis Scott Key Bridge carried the I-695 Baltimore Beltway over the mouth of the Patapsco River until March 26, 2024, when the containership Dali lost power and struck one of its piers; the bridge fell and six road workers were killed. MDTA has it under reconstruction and does not expect the replacement to open until the fall of 2028, so for now the southeast arc of I-695 is simply severed — the Outer Loop ends at exit 1 and the Inner Loop at exit 43. A route that once crossed here goes around instead, and anything moving through the Baltimore area should allow for the added miles and traffic.

• Two tunnels, and the trucks neither will take

  The two remaining harbor crossings are tunnels, and both the Fort McHenry Tunnel on I-95 and the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel on I-895 forbid hazardous loads. The Harbor Tunnel also turns away anything over 13 feet 6 inches tall or 8 feet wide and every double trailer, while the Fort McHenry allows up to 14 feet 6 inches. A tall loaded car carrier therefore has to use the Fort McHenry, and a load neither tunnel will take once crossed on the Key Bridge — with that gone, the state now signs those trucks onto I-695 west, the long way around the city.

• One of the country's busiest car ports is here

  The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore handled 749,799 cars and light trucks in 2024, second among US ports, and was the nation's number one port for roll-on/roll-off farm and construction machinery at 848,628 tons — all of it despite the months the Dali allision and the Key Bridge collapse took out of the year. For a household move this matters in one way: a quote to or from the auto terminals at Dundalk or Fairfield may be priced as a run to the dock rather than to your door, so it is worth asking which one you are getting.

• The Bay Bridge closes by the wind gauge

  Every delivery to Maryland's Eastern Shore crosses the US 50/301 Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and MDTA tightens it as the wind climbs. A wind warning starts at sustained speeds of 30 to 39 mph; at 40 to 49 mph empty box trailers and house trailers are turned away; above 50 mph only cars, pickups, flatbeds, buses and heavy-laden tractor-trailers may cross; and above 55 mph the bridge can be closed to everyone. An empty or lightly loaded carrier is exactly what gets held, and there is no quick alternative crossing, so a windy day on the Shore is a scheduling risk worth a flexible date.

Sources: NTSB: containership Dali and the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, MDTA: progressive design-build contract for the Key Bridge rebuild, MDTA: tunnel restrictions, vehicle permits and the Key Bridge detour, Maryland SHA: forbidden hazardous materials and tunnel size restrictions, Maryland Port Administration: 2024 Port of Baltimore cargo results, MDTA: Chesapeake Bay Bridge wind warnings and restrictions