Inspectors will spend the week examining the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, looking for ways to improve safety after a deadly crash eight days ago.

Investigators reportedly believe a drowsy driver nodded off about 4 a.m. Sunday, August 9, while crossing the bridge, sideswiping an oncoming tractor-trailer. The semi jackknifed, slamming through the Jersey walls which make up the sides of the bridge and plummeting into the bay below.

The tractor-trailer driver, 57-year-old John Short of Willards, Md., was killed.

Bridge officials have stressed they believe the bridge is safe. They say Monday's inspection was focused on ways to improve safety on the bridge.

"We are looking at all of this with a very fine magnifying glass to make sure we learn everything," said Geoffrey Kolberg, the Maryland Transportation Authority's chief engineer. "The direction I've been given is how do we make it better. So take a look at that in regards to the whole bridge, not just where the accident was."

Bridge engineers say they are testing the concrete and the condition of the Jersey walls. They plan to study the possibility of using temporary barriers to separate two-way traffic, and are considering retrofitting the Jersey walls to make them higher.

Many drivers don't like crossing the Bay Bridge, espcially when it's configured for two-way traffic on one span.

"I think it does give me pause to think about the two-way traffic on the bridge -- I don't think that's very good," said Hunt Valley resident Phyllis Patteson.

"I don't like the two-way traffic at all and I avoid it at all costs," added Stevensville resident Shirley Souder.

Police still aren't saying much about the investigation of the crash, other than it's ongoing. They are still waiting on toxicology reports for the teenage driver who told the Washington Post she fell asleep at the wheel before her Camaro collided with the semi.

The inspections of the eastbound span will require its closure Expect two-way traffic on the other span between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The posted speed limit during the lane closure is 40 mph.

The operations center for the bridge is using cameras to keep a close watch on traffic.

Drivers can call 1-877-BAYSPAN for the latest information.