Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel District
Encyclopedia
Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel District is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is overseen by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission, and operates the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
between the Hampton Roads
and Eastern Shore
regions of the state. The District comprises six cities, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, and the two Eastern Shore counties of Northampton and Accomack.
operated some passenger and railroad car ferry services between the Eastern Shore
and Old Point Comfort
on the Virginia Peninsula
and Norfolk
in South Hampton Roads
. The Little Creek Ferry
operated between the Eastern Shore and Princess Anne County
and transported vehicles as part of U.S. Route 13
and the Ocean Highway
.
In 1953, the Pennsylvania Railroad announced an end to the service to Old Point Comfort. Worse yet, despite adding more ships, and making as many as 90 one-way crossings a day, the Little Creek Ferry was also proving inadequate. A fixed crossing had long been desired, but was not feasible due to the risk of blocking access to the U.S. Navy's extensive facilities in Hampton Roads
. The shortest possible crossing would be approximately 15 miles, far too long for a tunnel
such as the Downtown Tunnel
across the Elizabeth River
which was completed in 1952.
Responding to the problem, in 1954, the Virginia General Assembly
created the Chesapeake Bay Ferry District and the Chesapeake Bay Ferry Commission to oversee it. The agency set about the matters of improving bay ferry service and exploring the possibilities of building a fixed crossing. Toll revenue bond
s were sold and most of the funds used to purchase the Virginia Ferry Corporation, a public service company
which was the operator of the Little Creek Ferry Service. A portion of the funds were designated for a study of a fixed crossing.
A bridge
across the Bay was unacceptable to the Navy, and a long tunnel was also considered infeasible. The answer, however, lay close at hand. A similar situation had earlier confronted the crossing of Hampton Roads between Old Point Comfort and South Hampton Roads, and a solution found in a combination of bridge and tunnel which came to be known as a bridge-tunnel
. In 1957, the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel
was completed, using bridges on each end, and a tunnel under the shipping channel. It was necessary to build artificial islands to anchor the ends of the tunnel, and it was costly to construct, but the design met all the various requirements.
In the late 1950s, an engineering feasibility study of using a combination of bridges and tunnels was performed under the direction of civil engineer
Leif J. Sverdrup
and his company. Ultimately, a 23 mile-long project, with 17.4 miles of bridge and tunnel construction, was planned. The names of the District and Commission were changed to reflect the new primary mission.
$200 million dollars in toll revenue bonds were sold in August 1960, and construction began the following month. The new bridge-tunnel opened in 1964 as a two lane facility. The Little Creek Ferry service was discontinued, with most ships sold to service a new ferry service across the Delaware Bay
at Cape May, New Jersey
.
Before it was built, Kellam handled a political fight over the location, and addressed concerns of the U.S. Navy about prospective hazards to navigation to and from the Norfolk Navy Base
at Sewell's Point
.
Kellam was also directly involved in the negotiations to finance the ambitious crossing with bonds. According to the newspaper article, "there were not-unfounded fears that (1) storm-driven seas and drifting or off-course vessels could damage, if not destroy, the span and (2) traffic might not be sufficient to service the entire debt in an orderly way. Sure enough, bridge portions of the crossing have occasionally been damaged by vessels, and there was a long period when holders of the riskiest bonds received no interest on their investment."
, who had previously served as the Manager of Warwick County
, which had become an independent city
in 1952 and merged with Newport News
in 1958. A stretch of highway in Newport News is named for him.
two-lane trestle
s were built both to alleviate traffic and for safety reasons, opening on April 19, 1999. This increased the capacity of the above-water portion of the facility to four lanes, facilitated needed repairs, and helped insure against a total closure should a trestle be struck by a ship or otherwise damaged (which had occurred twice in the past).
While there has been planning work done to expand tunnel capacities as well, and tolls were increased in anticipation of this, the facility currently continues to utilize only the original two-lane tunnels.
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a long fixed link crossing the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and connecting the Delmarva Peninsula's Eastern Shore of Virginia with Virginia Beach and the metropolitan area of Hampton Roads, Virginia...
between the Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
and Eastern Shore
Eastern Shore of Virginia
The Eastern Shore of Virginia consists of two counties on the Atlantic coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The region is part of the Delmarva Peninsula and is separated from the rest of Virginia by the Chesapeake Bay. Its population was 45,553 as of 2010...
regions of the state. The District comprises six cities, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, and the two Eastern Shore counties of Northampton and Accomack.
History
By the early 20th century, the Chesapeake Bay was becoming an increasing transportation obstacle for the growing number of motor vehicles. The Pennsylvania RailroadPennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
operated some passenger and railroad car ferry services between the Eastern Shore
Eastern Shore of Virginia
The Eastern Shore of Virginia consists of two counties on the Atlantic coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The region is part of the Delmarva Peninsula and is separated from the rest of Virginia by the Chesapeake Bay. Its population was 45,553 as of 2010...
and Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort is a point of land located in the independent city of Hampton. It lies at the extreme tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads in the United States....
on the Virginia Peninsula
Virginia Peninsula
The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay.Hampton Roads is the common name for the metropolitan area that surrounds the body of water of the same name...
and Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
in South Hampton Roads
South Hampton Roads
South Hampton Roads is a region located in the extreme southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States, and is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA with a population about 1.7 million....
. The Little Creek Ferry
Little Creek Ferry
The Little Creek-Cape Charles Ferry was a passenger ferry service operating across the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay from the 1930s until 1964. Known also as the Princess Anne-Kiptopeke Beach Ferry or Little Creek-Kiptopeke Beach Ferry, the service connected Virginia Beach, Virginia with Cape...
operated between the Eastern Shore and Princess Anne County
Princess Anne County, Virginia
Princess Anne County is a former county which was created in the British Colony of Virginia and the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States in 1691. The county was merged into the city of Virginia Beach...
and transported vehicles as part of U.S. Route 13
U.S. Route 13
U.S. Route 13 is a north–south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for from Interstate 95 just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina to the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville. In all, it traverses five states in the Atlantic coastal plain region,...
and the Ocean Highway
Ocean Highway
Ocean Highway was a designation established early in the 20th century for a combination of roadways and water-crossings for motor vehicles which would generally traverse as close as possible to the Atlantic Ocean along the East Coast of the United States from Jacksonville, Florida to New Brunswick,...
.
In 1953, the Pennsylvania Railroad announced an end to the service to Old Point Comfort. Worse yet, despite adding more ships, and making as many as 90 one-way crossings a day, the Little Creek Ferry was also proving inadequate. A fixed crossing had long been desired, but was not feasible due to the risk of blocking access to the U.S. Navy's extensive facilities in Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
. The shortest possible crossing would be approximately 15 miles, far too long for a tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
such as the Downtown Tunnel
Downtown Tunnel
The Downtown Tunnel on Interstate 264 crosses the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River in the South Hampton Roads area. It links the independent City of Portsmouth with the independent City of Norfolk...
across the Elizabeth River
Elizabeth River (Virginia)
The Elizabeth River is a tidal estuary forming an arm of Hampton Roads harbor at the southern end of Chesapeake Bay in southeast Virginia in the United States. It is located along the southern side of the mouth of the James River, between the cities of Portsmouth and Norfolk...
which was completed in 1952.
Responding to the problem, in 1954, the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
created the Chesapeake Bay Ferry District and the Chesapeake Bay Ferry Commission to oversee it. The agency set about the matters of improving bay ferry service and exploring the possibilities of building a fixed crossing. Toll revenue bond
Toll revenue bond
A toll revenue bond is a financial promissory note usually issued to generate funds for the construction and/or operation of a public accommodation such as an expressway, bridge, or tunnel...
s were sold and most of the funds used to purchase the Virginia Ferry Corporation, a public service company
Public service company
A public service company is a corporation or other non-governmental business entity which delivers public services - certain services considered essential to the public interest...
which was the operator of the Little Creek Ferry Service. A portion of the funds were designated for a study of a fixed crossing.
A bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
across the Bay was unacceptable to the Navy, and a long tunnel was also considered infeasible. The answer, however, lay close at hand. A similar situation had earlier confronted the crossing of Hampton Roads between Old Point Comfort and South Hampton Roads, and a solution found in a combination of bridge and tunnel which came to be known as a bridge-tunnel
Bridge-tunnel
A fixed link, fixed crossing, or bridge-tunnel is a persistent, unbroken road or rail connection across water that uses some combination of bridges, tunnels, and causeways and does not involve intermittent connections such as drawbridges or ferries.The Confederation Bridge was commonly referred to...
. In 1957, the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel
Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel
The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel is the -long Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 60. It is a four-lane facility comprising bridges, trestles, man-made islands, and tunnels under the main shipping channels for Hampton Roads harbor in the southeastern portion of Virginia in the...
was completed, using bridges on each end, and a tunnel under the shipping channel. It was necessary to build artificial islands to anchor the ends of the tunnel, and it was costly to construct, but the design met all the various requirements.
In the late 1950s, an engineering feasibility study of using a combination of bridges and tunnels was performed under the direction of civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
Leif J. Sverdrup
Leif J. Sverdrup
Leif Johan Sverdrup was a Norwegian born, American civil engineer and general with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the first half of the 20th century...
and his company. Ultimately, a 23 mile-long project, with 17.4 miles of bridge and tunnel construction, was planned. The names of the District and Commission were changed to reflect the new primary mission.
$200 million dollars in toll revenue bonds were sold in August 1960, and construction began the following month. The new bridge-tunnel opened in 1964 as a two lane facility. The Little Creek Ferry service was discontinued, with most ships sold to service a new ferry service across the Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
at Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States...
.
Lucius J. Kellam Jr.
Eastern Shore native, businessman, and civic leader Lucius J. Kellam Jr. was the original Commission's first chairman. In a commentary at the time of his death in 1995, the Virginian-Pilot newspaper (Norfolk) recalled that Kellam had been involved in bringing the multi-million-dollar bridge-tunnel project from dream to reality.Before it was built, Kellam handled a political fight over the location, and addressed concerns of the U.S. Navy about prospective hazards to navigation to and from the Norfolk Navy Base
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
at Sewell's Point
Sewell's Point
Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to the north, Hampton Roads to the west, and the Lafayette...
.
Kellam was also directly involved in the negotiations to finance the ambitious crossing with bonds. According to the newspaper article, "there were not-unfounded fears that (1) storm-driven seas and drifting or off-course vessels could damage, if not destroy, the span and (2) traffic might not be sufficient to service the entire debt in an orderly way. Sure enough, bridge portions of the crossing have occasionally been damaged by vessels, and there was a long period when holders of the riskiest bonds received no interest on their investment."
J. Clyde Morris
The first executive director of the CBBT was J. Clyde MorrisJ. Clyde Morris
J. Clyde Morris was a civic leader in the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia. His career spanned 32 years of public service.Morris served as the only city manager of the short-lived City of Warwick in the Virginia Peninsula subregion from 1952 to 1958...
, who had previously served as the Manager of Warwick County
Warwick County, Virginia
Warwick County was a county in Southeast Virginia that was created from Warwick River Shire, one of eight created in the Virginia Colony in 1634. It became the City of Warwick on July 16, 1952...
, which had become an independent city
Independent city
An independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity. These type of cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other sovereign state.-Historical precursors:In the Holy Roman Empire,...
in 1952 and merged with Newport News
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
in 1958. A stretch of highway in Newport News is named for him.
Adding additional lanes
At a cost of $197 million, new parallelParallel (geometry)
Parallelism is a term in geometry and in everyday life that refers to a property in Euclidean space of two or more lines or planes, or a combination of these. The assumed existence and properties of parallel lines are the basis of Euclid's parallel postulate. Two lines in a plane that do not...
two-lane trestle
Trestle
A trestle is a rigid frame used as a support, especially referring to a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by such frames. In the context of trestle bridges, each supporting frame is generally referred to as a bent...
s were built both to alleviate traffic and for safety reasons, opening on April 19, 1999. This increased the capacity of the above-water portion of the facility to four lanes, facilitated needed repairs, and helped insure against a total closure should a trestle be struck by a ship or otherwise damaged (which had occurred twice in the past).
While there has been planning work done to expand tunnel capacities as well, and tolls were increased in anticipation of this, the facility currently continues to utilize only the original two-lane tunnels.