Traffic around Annapolis
 

I will be traveling between the Baltimore airport and Ocean City, MD on July 16 and July 23, both are Wednesday's. I have heard from friends that the Hwy around the bridge that goes over the Chesapeake Bay can get pretty congested. I was wondering how bad that the traffic really is, especially in the middle of the day (noon-2:00pm)?

Also, how long does it take to travel from BWI to Ocean City, MD?

Barring a bad traffic accident, your drive should be fine on a Wednesday. Even on Fridays in the summer, traffic is usually pretty good. For their week's vacation, people usually can't check in until 3 PM or so on Saturdays. On Fridays and Saturdays in the summer, a lane is added from the westbound bridge which eases the traffic. As an Eastern Shore to DC commuter for 12 years, I have found that dreadful Bay Bridge back-ups are caused by bad accidents, rain (authorities usually close down the extra lane from the westbound bridge when it rains) or pre-summer vacation Fridays in the spring or early fall that promise unusually good weather thus encouraging all DC/Baltimore condo owners to take three day weekends all at the same time.

Thanks. I appreciate that! What about how long it takes to travel from Baltimore to OC, MD? Internet maps all take you on a route through Delaware (about 125-130 miles). Is that shorter than staying on MD-50 all the way to OC?

BWI to 50 is about fifteen minutes. From Route 50, it'll take you about two hours to get to Ocean City. For dining in Ocean City, my folks prefer Windows on the Bay and Harpoon Hannahs.

You should be fine on a Wednesday. Most of the traffic to/from the beach is on weekends. While in O.C. make sure to go to Seacrets, it's an outdoor tropical bar/restaurant. If you go on a weekend, get there early to get a raft and float all day and listen to beach music and drink a frozen colada

I live near the Bay Bridge and highly recommend you avoid travel from Annapolis across the bridge on summer Thursday afternoons, Friday afternoons & evenings and Saturday mornings. It is so bad we cannot leave our home on Friday to go to dinner unless we are going to be out late as we cannot get home from Annapolis due to back up of traffic!