It’s official: the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, central Maryland’s gateway to the Eastern Shore, is getting replaced by something bigger and taller.

Federal highway officials have signed off on the environmental review process for replacing the aging, roughly 4-mile structures linking Anne Arundel and Queen Anne’s Counties, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority, which owns and operates the bridge and other tolled facilities across the state.

The MDTA now has the official green light for two, four-lane spans, each with full shoulders, to replace the existing ones. They will also have a vertical clearance above the water of about 230 feet — taller than the existing bridge — to allow for larger ships to enter the Port of Baltimore.

Officials estimate the structures will carry a price tag between $14.8 and $17.6 billion.

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Melissa Williams, the MDTA’s planning director, said in an interview they will begin assembling a design team shortly, and anticipate launching final design in the spring of 2028. Construction could begin in summer of 2032 “if the stars align,” she said.

That timeline means the MDTA will be designing one megaproject while building another. The ongoing replacement of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, also owned and managed by the transportation authority, is estimated to conclude by the end of 2030.

The southern, two-lane span of the Bay Bridge first opened to motorists in 1952. The parallel, three-lane span then opened in 1973. Combined, they carry roughly 27 million vehicles per year, according to state figures.

This story will be updated