The George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge (known locally as simply the Coleman Bridge) is a double
swing bridge that spans the
York River between
Yorktown and
Gloucester Point
Gloucester Point is a census-designated place (CDP) in Gloucester County, Virginia, United States. The population was 9,402 at the 2010 census. It is home to the College of William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science, a graduate school f ...
, in the United States state of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. It connects the
Peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
and
Middle Peninsula regions of
Tidewater, Virginia
Tidewater refers to the north Atlantic coastal plain region of the United States of America.
Definition
Culturally, the Tidewater region usually includes the low-lying plains of southeast Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, southern Maryl ...
. The bridge is the only public crossing of the York River, though
State Route 33 crosses both of its tributaries (the
Mattaponi and
Pamunkey River
The Pamunkey River is a tributary of the York River, about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in eastern Virginia in the United States. Via the York Rive ...
s) just upriver of their confluence at
West Point.
History
Originally built in 1952, it was reconstructed and widened in 1995 through an unusual process which greatly reduced the time the important commuter artery was out-of-service from conventional methods. The current -long double-swing-span bridge carries
United States Route 17
U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Highway that spans in the southeastern United States. It runs close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its length, with ...
, a four-lane arterial highway. The
movable span is needed to allow ship access to several military installations that are upstream of the bridge, most notably, the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
's
Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. The roadways are almost above the river at the highest point of the bridge. The bridge is the largest double-swing-span bridge in the United States, and second largest in the world.
The
toll bridge was named for
George P. Coleman, who from 1913 to 1922 was the head of the Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation, predecessor to the
Virginia Department of Transportation
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is the agency of the state government responsible for transportation in the state of Virginia in the United States. VDOT is headquartered at the Virginia Department of Highways Building in downtown ...
(VDOT). The bridge has been one of the sites of a special program to establish and encourage nesting locations for the
peregrine falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...
population of Virginia.
Toll rates
The George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge is a toll facility. Tolls are only collected northbound, and are used to pay for the expansion of the bridge to four lanes. Toll Collection Rates are as follows:
*Bicycles 0¢
*EZ-Pass (transponder required) 85¢
*Motorcycles 85¢
*Two-axle vehicles $2
*Three-axle vehicles $3
*Four- or more-axle vehicles $4
Bicycles taking advantage of the free crossing must use the established bicycle lane located to the right of the far right travel lane.
Photos
File:GeorgePColemanBridge.jpg, Bridge swung open as seen from Yorktown side, Summer 2011
File:Coleman Bridge 080801.jpg, One of the two swing spans while fully turned (open for river traffic)
File:Flickr - Official U.S. Navy Imagery - USS Winston S. Churchill gets underway..jpg, Opened bridge as seen from aboard a Navy ship
File:Coleman Bridge closing.jpg, Bridge swinging closed as seen from down York River
File:Entering Coleman Bridge from Yorktown Side.jpg, Entering Bridge from Yorktown side
File:USSElrod VA.jpg, about to pass through the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge on the York River, Summer 2011
File:USS Arleigh Burke traveling under The James P. Coleman Memorial Bridge.jpg, USS Arleigh Burke
USS ''Arleigh Burke'' (DDG-51), named for Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN (1901–1996), is the lead ship of the guided-missile destroyers. She was laid down by the Bath Iron Works company at Bath, Maine, on 6 December 1988; launched on 16& ...
traveling under the bridge.
See also
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References
External links
PBS.org description of the bridge*
*
VDOT website for Peregrine Falcon news
*
{{Authority control
Swing bridges in the United States
Toll bridges in Virginia
Monuments and memorials in Virginia
Bridges completed in 1952
Road bridges in Virginia
U.S. Route 17
Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System
Historic American Engineering Record in Virginia
Steel bridges in the United States
Buildings and structures in York County, Virginia
Buildings and structures in Gloucester County, Virginia