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The Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel (CBBT, officially the Lucius J. Kellam Jr. Bridge–Tunnel) is a bridge–tunnel that crosses the mouth of the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...
between
Delmarva The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Eastern Shore of Virginia. The peninsula is l ...
and
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...
in the U.S. commonwealth of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. It opened in 1964, replacing ferries that had operated since the 1930s. A major project to dualize its bridges was completed in 1999, and in 2017 a similar project was started to dualize one of its tunnels. With of bridges and two
tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
s, the CBBT is one of only 14 bridge–tunnel systems in the world and one of three in Hampton Roads. It carries US 13, which saves motorists roughly and hours on trips between Hampton Roads and the
Delaware Valley The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as Greater Philadelphia and informally called the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia tri-state area, and locally and colloquially Philly–Jersey–Delaware, is a major metropolitan area in the Nor ...
and points north compared with other routes through the Washington–Baltimore Metropolitan Area. , over 140 million vehicles have crossed the CBBT. The CBBT was built and is operated by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel District, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia governed by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission in cooperation with the
Virginia Department of Transportation The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is the agency of the U.S. state, state government responsible for transportation in the state of Virginia in the United States. VDOT is headquartered at the Virginia Department of Highways Buildin ...
. Its construction was financed by toll revenue bonds, while operating and maintenance expenses are recovered through tolls. In 2002, a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) study commissioned by the
Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...
concluded that "given the inability of the state to fund future capital requirements of the CBBT, the District and Commission should be retained to operate and maintain the Bridge–Tunnel as a toll facility in perpetuity". The tunnel sections addressed concerns that a bridge failure across critical shipping lanes would block not only shipping but navy access. A similarly named
Chesapeake Bay Bridge The Gov. William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge (informally called the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and, locally, the Bay Bridge) is a major twin bridges, dual-span bridge in the U.S. state of Maryland. Spanning the Chesapeake Bay, it connects the ...
crosses the Chesapeake Bay farther north in Maryland connecting
Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
and Kent Island.


History


Geographic background

In December 1606, the
Virginia Company The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the objective of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day ...
of London sent an expedition to North America to establish a settlement in the
Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...
. After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean from England, they reached the New World at the southern edge of the mouth of what is now known as the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...
. They named the two flanking Virginia points of land /capes like gateposts at the entrance to the long extensive estuary after the sons of their king, James I, the southern Cape Henry, for the eldest and presumed heir,
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, (19 February 1594 – 6 November 1612), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King James VI and I and Anne of Denmark, Queen Anne. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley; and Fr ...
, and the northern Cape Charles, for his younger brother, Charles, Duke of York (the future King Charles I). A few weeks later they established their first permanent settlement on the southern, mainland, side of the bay, several miles upstream along the newly named
James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...
at Jamestown on the northern shore on a close-in island for protection, the first permanent settlement in English North America. Across the bay, the area north of Cape Charles was located along what became known later as the
Delmarva Peninsula The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Eastern Shore of Virginia. The peninsula is l ...
. As it bordered the Atlantic Ocean to its east, the region became known as Virginia and neighboring
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
's Eastern Shore. As the entire colony grew, the bay was a formidable transportation obstacle for exchanges with the Virginia mainland on the Western Shore. One of the eight original
shires of Virginia The eight Shires of Virginia were formed in 1634 in the Virginia Colony. These shires were based on a form of local government used in England at the time, and were redesignated as counties a few years later. As of 2007, five of the eight origina ...
,
Accomac Shire Accomac Shire was established in the Colony of Virginia by the House of Burgesses in 1634 under the direction of King Charles I. It was one of the original eight shires of Virginia. The shire's name comes from the Native American word "Accawmack". ...
was established there in 1634, eventually becoming the two counties of modern times, Accomack County in the north and Northampton County to the south. In comparison to mainland regions, commerce and growth was limited by the need to cross the Bay. Consequently, little industrial base grew there, with the oceanfront peninsula staying predominantly rural with small towns and villages oriented towards life on the waters, and most residents made their living by farming and working as watermen, both on the bay (locally known as the "bay side") and in the Atlantic Ocean ("sea side").


Ferry system

For the first 350 years, ships and ferry systems provided the primary transportation. From the early 1930s to 1954, the Virginia Ferry Corporation (VFC), a privately owned public service company managed a scheduled vehicular (car, bus, truck) and passenger ferry service between the Virginia Eastern Shore and Princess Anne County (now part of the City of Virginia Beach) on the mainland Western Shore in the
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 1,177,742 as of 2020. It is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA ( M ...
area. This system, connecting portions of US 13, was known as the Little Creek-Cape Charles Ferry. In 1951, the northern terminus in Delmarva was relocated to a location now within Kiptopeke State Park. Despite an expanded fleet of large and modern ships by the VFC in the 1940s and early 1950s which were eventually capable of as many as 90 one-way trips each day, the crossing suffered delays due to heavy traffic and inclement weather. In 1954, the
Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...
created a political subdivision, the Chesapeake Bay Ferry District and its governing body, the Chesapeake Bay Ferry Commission. The commission was authorized to acquire the private ferry corporation through bond financing, to improve the existing VFC ferry service. When the CBBT opened, much of the ferry equipment and vessels used by the Little Creek-Cape Charles Ferry VFC service was sold and moved north to be redeployed to start the Cape May–Lewes Ferry across the mouth of the
Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States, lying between the states of Delaware and New Jersey. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltw ...
between
Cape May, New Jersey Cape May (sometimes Cape May City) is a City (New Jersey), city and seaside resort located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located on the Atlantic Ocean ...
and Lewes, Delaware. It still serves transit needs, but the number of pleasure trip passengers increased as the coastal beach resorts developed and grew crowded with vacationers in the next decades, partly due to the improved swifter transportation with highway, bridge, and tunnel access in the region of three states.


Studying a fixed crossing

In 1956, the General Assembly authorized the Ferry Commission to conduct feasibility studies for the construction of a fixed crossing. The conclusion of the study indicated that a vehicular crossing was feasible. Consideration was given to service between the Eastern Shore and both the peninsula and South Hampton Roads. Eventually, the shortest route, extending between the Eastern Shore and a point in Princess Anne County at Chesapeake Beach (east of Little Creek, west of Lynnhaven Inlet), was selected. An option to also provide a fixed crossing link to Hampton and the peninsula was not pursued. The selected route crosses two Atlantic shipping channels: the Thimble Shoals Channel to Hampton Roads and the Chesapeake Channel to the northern Chesapeake Bay. High-level bridges were initially considered for traversing these channels. The
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
objected to bridging the Thimble Shoals Channel because a bridge collapse (possibly by sabotage) could cut
Naval Station Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Ham ...
off from the Atlantic Ocean.
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
officials expressed similar concerns about the Chesapeake Channel and the
Port of Baltimore The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is a Port, shipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, on the upper northwest shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the nation's la ...
. To address these concerns, the engineers recommended a series of bridges and tunnels known as a bridge–tunnel, similar in design to the
Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel The Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel (HRBT) is a Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 64 (I-64) and US Route 60 (US 60). It is a four-lane facility comprising bridges, trestles, artificial islands, and tunnels under the main sh ...
, which had been completed in 1957, but on a considerably longer and larger facility. The tunnel portions, anchored by four artificial islands of approximately each, would be extended under the two main shipping channels. The CBBT was designed by the engineering firm Sverdrup & Parcel of
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
.


Original construction

In mid-1960, the Chesapeake Bay Ferry Commission sold $200 million in toll revenue bonds (equivalent to $ billion in dollars) to private investors, and the proceeds were used to finance the construction of the bridge–tunnel. Funds collected by future tolls were pledged to pay the principal and interest on the bonds. No local, state, or federal tax funds were used in the construction of the project. Construction contracts were awarded to a consortium of Tidewater Construction Corporation and
Merritt-Chapman & Scott Merritt-Chapman & Scott, nicknamed "The Black Horse of the Sea", was a noted marine salvage and civil engineering, construction firm of the United States, with worldwide operations. The chief predecessor company was founded in the 1860s by Isra ...
Corporation. The steel superstructure for the high-level bridges near the north end of the crossing were fabricated by the American Bridge Division of
United States Steel Corporation The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...
. Construction of the bridge–tunnel began in October 1960 after a six-month process of assembling necessary equipment from worldwide sources. The tunnels were constructed using the technique refined by Ole Singstad with the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, whereby a large ditch was first dug for each tunnel, into which was lowered pre-fabricated tunnel sections cable-suspended from overhead barges. Interior chambers were filled with water to lower the sections, the sections then aligned, bolted together by divers, the water pumped out, and the tunnels finally covered with earth. The construction was accomplished under the severe conditions imposed by
nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below) is a large-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. Typically, such storms originate as a low ...
s,
hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
s, and the unpredictable Atlantic Ocean. During the
Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 The Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 occurred on March 5–9, 1962 along the Atlantic Ocean, mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. Also known as the Great March Storm of 1962, it was considered by the U.S. Geological Survey to be one of the most des ...
, much of the partially completed work and a major piece of custom-built equipment, a pile driver barge called "The Big D", were destroyed. Seven workers were killed at various times during the construction. In April 1964, 42 months after construction began, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel opened to traffic and the ferry service discontinued. The Ferry Commission and transportation district it oversees, created in 1954, were later renamed for the revised mission of building and operating the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel. The CBBT district is a public agency, and it is a legal subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The bridge–tunnel is supported financially by the tolls collected from the motorists who use the facility. Eastern Shore native, businessman, and civic leader Lucius J. Kellam Jr. (1911–1995) was the original commission's first chairman. In a commentary at the time of his death in 1995, the Norfolk-based '' Virginian-Pilot'' newspaper recalled that Kellam had been involved in bringing the multimillion-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 at
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 t ...
. 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." An icon of eastern Virginia politics, Kellam remained chairman and champion of the CBBT throughout the hard times, and the bondholders were eventually paid as toll revenues caught up with expenses. He continued to serve until he was over 80 years old, finally retiring in 1993. He had held the post for 39 years. The facility was renamed in Kellam's honor in 1987, over 20 years after it opened.


Bridge dualization (1999)

At a cost of $197 million, new parallel two-lane trestles were built both to alleviate traffic and for safety reasons. Immediately after completion of the parallel trestles, traffic was diverted to them and the original trestles and roadway underwent a $20 million retrofit, repairing the wear and tear of 35 years of service and upgrading certain features, such as repaving the road surface. The older portion of the facility was then reopened on April 19, 1999. The 1995–1999 project increased the capacity of the above-water portion of the facility to four lanes, added wider shoulders for the new southbound portion, facilitated needed repairs, and provided protection against a total closure should a trestle be struck by a ship or otherwise damaged (which had occurred twice in the past); partially for this reason, the parallel trestles are not located immediately adjacent to each other, reducing the chance that both would be damaged during a single incident.


Thimble Shoal Tunnel dualization (projected 2028)

In 2013, the CBBT Commission approved a project to construct a second tunnel under the Thimble Shoal channel for an estimated cost of $756 million. The project received three bids, all of which would use a
tunnel boring machine A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole" or a "worm", is a machine used to excavate tunnels. TBMs are an alternative to drilling and blasting methods and "hand mining", allowing more rapid excavation through hard rock, wet or dry so ...
. The winning company was German-based Herrenknecht, whose machine was long. The machine, nicknamed ''Chessie'' in a naming contest, was capable of moving forward through soil at per minute, or about per day. At that rate, it was estimated that the tunnel would be dug within about one year. Construction work began in 2017 to prepare the location of the tunnels. The affected pier, shop, and restaurant were closed in September 2017. The machine was built in 2018, after some delays, and was shipped to Virginia. After boring, the machine will also be adding the circular concrete segments which will be delivered into the tunnel via mine cars one at a time. Construction was scheduled to finish in 2023. By August 2022, the second tunnel at Thimble Shoal had been delayed to 2027. As of 2025, now the project has been delayed to 2028. * Tunnel length: approximately * Tunnel diameter: ** Inner diameter: Prior to roadway and support structure installation ** Outer diameter: * Construction cost: $755,987,318 * Construction method: Bored tunnel * Construction start (estimate): October 1, 2017 * Construction completion (estimate): 2023 * Maximum tunnel depth ** Crown—at its deepest location (mid-channel): below the water surface ** Invert—from the top of the roadway at its deepest location: below the surface * Soil removal: the approximate amount of soil to be removed by the tunnel boring machine (TBM) is . * Concrete sections: The tunnel will consist of approximately 9,000 individual concrete pieces. Approximately of concrete will be needed to make the tunnel sections.


Chesapeake Channel Tunnel dualization (projected 2035–2040)

At the northern end, a parallel Chesapeake Channel Tunnel will be added to finish the entire length to become a four-lane highway from shore to shore. This project is marked to begin in 2035, which would possibly be open for traffic in 2040, assuming there are no setbacks or delays. In 2021, the United States Department of Transportation loaned $338.6 million to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel District through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, with funds provided by the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL),H.R. 3684 is a United States federal statute enacted by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov ...
. The loan would help pay for the construction of both parallel tunnels.


Operations, maintenance, and regulations

Toll collection facilities are located at both ends of the facility. Tolls are paid in each direction. As of 2024, the toll for cars (without trailers) traveling along the CBBT is $16 for off-peak or $21 for peak times (Friday through Sunday from May 15 to September 15). Should a car make a return trip within 24 hours of the first, the second trip across costs $6/$1 for off peak/peak season, but only with an EZ-Pass; cash or card payers must pay full fare. Motorcycles pay the same toll as cars without trailers. All other vehicles are charged based on size and purpose and are not subject to the return-trip discount. All tolls must be paid either in cash, debit/credit card, by scrip tickets issued by the CBBT, or via
E-ZPass E-ZPass Interagency Group (E-ZPass Group trade name and E-ZPass product brand) is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the eastern half of the United States. The group itself is composed of ...
electronic toll collection Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or Road pricing, toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing Tol ...
. The bridge–tunnel began accepting Smart Tag/E-ZPass payments on November 1, 2007. All toll lanes including E-ZPass-only lanes are gated for safety concerns and to turn around inadmissible vehicles. For example: * Strong winds have blown over certain vehicles. Therefore, some vehicles are banned when the wind speed exceeds . Level 6 wind restrictions with hurricane-force winds (at least , i.e., approaching the wind speed of a Category 1 hurricane, which is at least ), and other inclement weather conditions ban all traffic. *
Hazardous material Dangerous goods are substances that are a risk to health, safety, property or the Natural environment, environment during transport. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials (syll ...
s and
compressed gas Bottled gas is a term used for substances which are gaseous at standard temperature and pressure (STP) and have been compressed and stored in carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, or composite containers known as gas cylinders. Gas sta ...
require various restrictions and inspections to safeguard the tunnels. * Both tunnels have a height limit of . An over-height truck in April 2007 severely damaged the tunnels. Repairs took three weeks. * Should police activities, accidents, or closures stop traffic from moving freely, gates prevent drivers from entering and then being forced to either back up within the narrow space or to wait too long in the middle of the bridge–tunnel. The bridge–tunnel management prohibits bicycles but offers a shuttle van for $15. Cyclists must call ahead. It is mandatory that the bridge be checked and serviced every five years. Since servicing the bridge takes about five years, the process is a continuous cycle. The CBBT is the only automobile transportation facility in Virginia with its police department. By original charter from the state, it has authority to enforce the laws of Virginia. Emergency call boxes are spaced at half-mile (0.8 km) intervals.


Tourism

The CBBT promotes the bridge–tunnel as not only a transportation facility to tourist destinations to the north and south, but as a destination itself. For travelers headed elsewhere, the bridge–tunnel can save more than of driving for those headed between Ocean City, MD; Rehoboth Beach, DE, Fenwick Island, DE, and Wilmington, DE (and areas north) and the Virginia Beach area or the Outer Banks of North Carolina, according to the CBBT district. Unlike the Interstate Highways that travelers would avoid by taking the bridge–tunnel, the roads in the shortcut have traffic lights. On the Delmarva peninsula to the north of the bridge, travelers may visit nearby Kiptopeke State Park, Eastern Shore National Wildlife Refuge, Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuge (closed to the public), Assateague Island National Seashore, NASA's
Wallops Flight Facility Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) is a rocket launch site on Wallops Island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, United States, just east of the Delmarva Peninsula and approximately north-northeast of Norfolk, VA, Norfolk. The facility is operated ...
, campgrounds and other vacation destinations. To the south are tourist destinations around Virginia Beach, including First Landing State Park, Norfolk Botanical Garden, Virginia Beach Maritime Historical Museum, Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum, and the Virginia Aquarium and Maritime Science Center. A scenic overlook is located at the north end of the bridge and was formerly located at South Thimble Island, near the south end. At South Thimble Island, passing ships may include U.S. Navy warships, nuclear submarines, and aircraft carriers, as well as large cargo vessels and sailing ships. A restaurant and gift shop on the island opened in 1964, along with the Sea Gull Pier. Bluefish, trout, croaker, flounder, and other species have been caught from the pier. Since birds use the habitat created by the bridges and islands of the CBBT, birders have travelled to the bridge–tunnel to see them at South Thimble Island and the scenic overlook at the north end. As part of the Thimble Shoal Channel Tunnel twinning, the building housing the restaurant and gift shop closed and access to the pier was prohibited starting at the end of September 2017. The building will be demolished and not replaced, and the pier will reopen to the public at the end of the project in 2027.


Dimensions

Among the key features of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel are two tunnels beneath the Thimble Shoals and Chesapeake navigation channels and two pairs of side-by-side high-level bridges over two other navigation channels: North Channel Bridge ( clearance) and Fisherman Inlet Bridge ( clearance). The remaining portion comprises of low-level trestle, of
causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...
, and four artificial islands. The CBBT is long from shore to shore, crossing what is essentially an ocean strait. Including land-approach highways, the overall facility is long ( from toll plaza to toll plaza) and despite its length, there is a height difference of only from the south to north end of the bridge–tunnel. Artificial islands, each approximately in size, are located at each end of the two tunnels. Between North Channel and Fisherman Inlet, the facility crosses at grade over Fisherman Island, a
barrier island Barrier islands are a Coast#Landforms, coastal landform, a type of dune, dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of an ...
that is part of the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The columns that support the CBBT's trestles—called piles—would stretch for about if placed end-to-end, roughly the distance between New York City and Philadelphia.


Incidents

The CBBT has been closed three times for multiple days after being struck by watercraft: * In December 1967, coal barge ''Mohawk'' broke anchor and struck the bridge, closing it for two weeks for repairs. * On January 21, 1970, the USS ''Yancey'' (AKA-93), a United States Navy attack cargo ship carrying 250 people, was at anchor near the bridge–tunnel. During a gale with winds gusting in excess of , the ''Yancey'' dragged its anchors and hit the bridge stern first, knocking out a segment of trestle. There were no vehicles on the bridge at the time of the impact, and no one was injured. During the 42 days it took to replace the damaged span, the Navy offered a free shuttle service for commuters using helicopters and LCUs. * In 1972, the bridge was again impacted by a barge that had broken loose, closing it for two weeks while the span was repaired. Other, less significant strikes have caused shorter closures while the affected structures are inspected—most recently, a four hour closure after a barge strike in June 2011. , there have been 16 incidents of vehicles running off the bridge and into the water. In 2017, a truck plowed through the barriers into the sea below; the driver was rescued but died en route to the hospital. In December 2020, a dairy truck crashed through the guardrail near mile 14. Witnesses saw the driver drifting in the water—estimated to be about —but were unable to rescue him. Despite an extensive search, he remained missing until April 2021, when his body washed up over south at Cape Hatteras National Seashore between
Salvo A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute. As a tactic in warfare, the intent is to cripple an enemy in many blows at once and prevent them from f ...
and Avon. A second truck following the dairy truck encountered strong wind gusts just prior to the accident that blew it into the other lane.


See also

* Busan–Geoje Fixed Link *
Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (HZMB) is a bridge–tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest Intercontinent ...
* List of bridge–tunnels *
Øresund Bridge The Øresund or Öresund Bridge is a combined List of road–rail bridges, railway and motorway cable-stayed bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the second longest bridge in Europe and combines both roadway and r ...
* Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line


Explanatory notes


References


External links

*
information from Norfolk Convention and Visitors Bureau


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20041209044807/http://easternshore.fws.gov/Fisherman%20Island/FI%20Gen%20Info.htm Fisherman's Island National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
General Assembly JLARC study of the CBBT in 2002
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Chesapeake Bay Bridges completed in 1964 Bridges completed in 1999 Toll bridges in Virginia Toll tunnels in Virginia Bridge–tunnels in North America Cross-sea traffic ways in North America U.S. Route 13 Buildings and structures in Virginia Beach, Virginia Transportation in Virginia Beach, Virginia Transportation in Northampton County, Virginia Tunnels completed in 1964 Road bridges in Virginia Road tunnels in Virginia Immersed tube tunnels in the United States Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Steel bridges in the United States Trestle bridges in the United States 1964 establishments in Virginia