South Norfolk Jordan Bridge
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The Jordan Bridge, officially named the South Norfolk Jordan Bridge, is a tolled highway fixed bridge which carries State Route 337 over the Southern Branch Elizabeth River between the
City of Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most ...
into the City of Chesapeake in
South Hampton Roads South Hampton Roads is a region located in the extreme southeastern portion of Virginia's Tidewater region in the United States with a total population of 1,191,937. It is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA (Metropolitan S ...
,
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 are ...
. The new crossing is an all-electronic toll facility that eliminated bridge lifts and height and weight restrictions and restored a vital river crossing for the Hampton Roads region. Originally opened in 1928, it was privately built by an organization led by
South Norfolk South Norfolk is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Long Stratton. The population of the Local Authority District was 124,012 as taken at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 ...
businessmen Wallace and Carl Jordan. It was later renamed the Jordan Bridge, principally to honor long-standing manager Carl M. Jordan. The oldest drawbridge in Virginia, the 80-year-old bridge had reached the end of its useful life by 2008. Faced with diminishing returns on millions of dollars in needed maintenance and unknown reliability, it was permanently closed on November 8, 2008. A replacement bridge, built with 100% private funds, and paid for by tolls, was approved by Chesapeake City Council on January 27, 2009. The new South Norfolk Jordan Bridge was originally scheduled to be completed by July 2010, but was finally completed and opened for use on October 27, 2012. It is owned and operated by United Bridge Partners, a business consortium consisting of Figg Bridge Builders and a private infrastructure investment firm.


Early history

Originally known as the Norfolk-Portsmouth Bridge, the bridge was planned and financing organized by
South Norfolk South Norfolk is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Long Stratton. The population of the Local Authority District was 124,012 as taken at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 ...
businessman Carl M. Jordan, who operated Jordan Brothers Lumber Co. with his brother Wallace. The Jordan brothers brought lumber from the
Great Dismal Swamp The Great Dismal Swamp is a large swamp in the Coastal Plain Region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It is located in parts of the southern Virginia indepe ...
to their lumber mill in South Norfolk, and had come to believe that the existing Norfolk County Ferry Service was not dependable enough for the needs of their business, or others in the community. It was a Waddell & Harrington-type vertical-lift drawbridge and was designed by Harrington, Howard, & Ash (engineers) of
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...
. It was completed at a cost of $1.25 million, and opened on August 24, 1928, as a
toll bridge A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or '' toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road ...
with a ceremony attended by Virginia's Governor
Harry F. Byrd Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (June 10, 1887 – October 20, 1966) was an American newspaper publisher, politician, and leader of the Democratic Party in Virginia for four decades as head of a political faction that became known as the Byrd Organization. ...
. Many years later, the bridge was renamed for Carl Jordan, who also had served as general manager and executive vice president of the South Norfolk Bridge Commission, Inc., a non-profit corporation organized in 1944 to manage the bridge. Ownership of the bridge was transferred to the City of Chesapeake after the Bridge Commission's indebtedness was finally satisfied in 1977.


Incidents: collisions with ships, mechanical failure

The Southern Branch Elizabeth River is heavily used by ocean-going vessels to reach industrial facilities and a
shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance ...
upstream from the Jordan Bridge. Traffic bound for the
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following t ...
also passes through this point. The Jordan Bridge was struck by ships several times. On June 2, 1939, an oil tanker struck it, and the east tower and lift span collapsed into the river, injuring two bridge employees, and closing it for more than 6 months. Another major collision of a ship occurred on June 13, 1943. The most recent collision with a ship was in January, 2004. In more recent years, there were periodic problems with the lift mechanism in addition to occasional collisions. When stuck in the "down" position, navigation for ocean-going vessels was severely inhibited, leading to concerns by shipping companies, ship operators and the
U.S. 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 o ...
, whose
shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance ...
is just downstream from the span. The equipment was mechanically obsolete, and repair parts were often unavailable.


Modern use

In recent years, the bridge was heavily traveled during morning and afternoon rush hours by motor vehicle traffic. A substantial portion of those were shipyard workers from the
Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility th ...
. Navy personnel assigned to the ships docked there also commute from homes in the eastern portion of South Hampton Roads, which includes the cities of
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...
and
Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous ci ...
and a large portion of the City of Chesapeake. The Jordan Bridge also had served effectively as an alternate route when other key river crossings in the area were congested or closed, most notably after
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in October 2003 when the Midtown Tunnel connecting Portsmouth and Norfolk was flooded. Tolls on the Jordan Bridge were temporarily suspended, and daily traffic increased by 20,000 vehicles. As the bridge and its approaches have only one lane in each direction, traffic backups and delays often occurred in more recent years. The Jordan Bridge was the oldest drawbridge in Virginia. Formerly operated by the City of Chesapeake's Department of Public Works, it had a restricted weight limit of 3 tons. Daily toll revenue was approximately $5,000. The toll (collected on the Chesapeake side) for both direction was 50 cents for
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, 75 cents for two axle vehicles, $1.00 for three axles and $1.25 for four axles. There were no facilities for electronic toll collection.


Replacement

Necessary repairs requiring too much expenditure, caused the city council to vote to shut down the bridge in October 2008. The new bridge has a bi-directional, tiered toll structure based on vehicle class, peak/off peak period, and E-ZPass/Pay-by-Plate payment option, with a free pedestrian walkway/jogging path. The new South Norfolk Jordan Bridge opened on October 26, 2012, at a reported construction cost of $142 million. On December 16, 2022, a fire occurred at a trash plant near the Jordan Bridge, causing it to close indefinitely, with no estimated time of reopening.


References


External links


Crossing the Jordan: an article with a lot of the bridge's history in Christopher Newport University's ''Lookout'' Magazine
* {{coord, 36.8083, -76.2900, format=dms, type:landmark_region:US-VA, display=title Intracoastal Waterway Toll bridges in Virginia Bridges completed in 1928 Vertical lift bridges in Virginia Bridges in Chesapeake, Virginia Road bridges in Virginia 1928 establishments in Virginia Concrete bridges in the United States