BALTIMORE — A crash involving multiple cars on the westbound span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge briefly closed all lanes Friday morning, the Maryland Department of Transportation said.

The crash was reported at 9:20 a.m. as large numbers of travelers headed to the coast for Memorial Day Weekend.

The MDTA said the crash was cleared and lanes were open as of 9:30 a.m.

People in Maryland and the rest of the United States were hitting the road on Friday for the long weekend, the unofficial start of summer.

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AAA predicts that 42.3 million Americans — including 850,000 Marylanders — will be traveling Thursday through Monday, up more than 7% from last year.

The National Weather Service was predicting mostly sunny skies Friday, with below-normal temperatures and highs in the in low- to mid-70s. The weekend forecast calls for increasing clouds with showers possible on Saturday night. It will be mostly cloudy Sunday, with thunderstorms possible and highs in the 60s to lower 70s. Expect warmer temperatures for Memorial Day, with highs in the 70s to low 80s and the possibility of showers and a thunderstorm.

Many travelers this weekend will be heading to the beach, and Ocean City is expecting a big crowd. So how can you get around easily?

The MDTA offers the following travel tips for this holiday weekend and throughout the summer months:

  • Travel off-peak when heading to and from the Eastern Shore.
  • The best times to travel the Bay Bridge this weekend include:
    Friday, May 26 – before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m.
    Saturday, May 27 – before 8 a.m. and after 4 p.m.
    Sunday, May 28 – before 11 a.m. and after 5 p.m.
    Memorial Day Monday, May 29 – before 8 a.m. and after 10 p.m.
    Tuesday, May 30 - Before 6 a.m. or after 7 p.m.
  • Motorists traveling to and from the Eastern Shore should remain on U.S. 50 to keep local roadways open for first responders and residents.
  • Avoid the Crowds!

For real-time updates on major incidents follow the MDTA on Twitter at twitter.com/TheMDTA.

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To sign up for email/text alerts or view real-time traffic camera images on MDTA roadways, visit mdta.maryland.gov.

Call 1-877-BAYSPAN (229-7726) for 24/7 Bay Bridge traffic conditions or visit baybridge.com to view traffic cameras.

Banner staff contributed to this report.

WJZ is a media partner of The Baltimore Banner.