---
title: Bottleneck Buster
date: 2025-05-14T10:00:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://terp.umd.edu/bottleneck-buster"
section: Articles
---
# Bottleneck Buster

*May 14, 2025* — by [John Tucker](/authors/john-tucker)


- *Illustration by Valerie Morgan*

> After Key Bridge Collapse, Engineer Seeks to Ease Commutes in Baltimore

*five roads diverging on yellow background*

**BEFORE BALTIMORE’S KEY BRIDGE** dramatically collapsed in March 2024, Pam Moffett, director of administrative services for UMD’s Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, spent an hour driving to campus from her home in Dundalk, just southeast of the city. The disaster, however, rerouted her trip over the bridge to the Harbor Tunnel, requiring a crawl through congested two-lane roads. Her time on the road ballooned to four hours a day.

“I said, I can’t do this for the next four years; this can’t possibly be my life,” says Moffett, who began renting a room near campus, away from her husband and friends.


*Xianfeng “Terry” Yang headshot*




**Issue:** [Spring 2025](https://terp.umd.edu/editions/spring-2025)


**Types:** [Explorations](https://terp.umd.edu/category/explorations)