The Great Bridge Bridge is a double-leaf rolling bascule

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...

that carries Battlefield Blvd ( State Route 168 Business) across the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, it is the second-most populous independent city in Virginia, tenth-largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 90th ...

. It was constructed in 2004 by the Army Corps of Engineers and operated by the City of Chesapeake. It has a mean daily traffic of 35,000 vehicles. The current bridge cost $46 million. In September 2018 a lightning strike disable the bridge's electronics, requiring manual operation. Normally the bridge opens automatically, on the hour, from 6am to 7pm. Vessels can request an opening from 7pm to 6am.

Earlier bridges

On December 9, 1775, when the

Battle of Great Bridge The Battle of Great Bridge was fought December 9, 1775, in the area of Great Bridge, Virginia, early in the American Revolutionary War. The victory by colonial Virginia militia forces led to the departure of Royal Governor Lord Dunmore and any r ...

was fought, a bridge spanned the main channel of the Elizabeth River, in the middle of a broad marshy estuary. A raised causeway spanned the rest of the estuary. A new bridge was built at

Great Bridge, Virginia Great Bridge is a community located in the independent city of Chesapeake in the U.S. state of Virginia. Its name is derived from the American Revolutionary War Battle of Great Bridge, which took place on December 9, 1775, and resulted in the fi ...

, in 1859, after the construction of

Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal The Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal was built by a corporation in 1856-1860 to afford inland navigation between the Chesapeake Bay and the Albemarle Sound. It is really two canals, thirty miles (50 km) apart, one eight and one-half miles (13. ...

(which is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway). During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

a bridge crossing at Great Bridge was destroyed. A new two-lane swing bridge replaced the late 19th century bridge in 1943.

References

{{Coord, 36, 43, 15.1, N, 76, 14, 23.8, W, type:landmark, display=title Road bridges in Virginia Bascule bridges in the United States Bridges completed in 2004 Bridges in Chesapeake, Virginia