Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

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Information board on one of the artificial islands
View of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel from the Delmarva Peninsula . The construction extends over the entire horizon.
The Chesapeake Bridge in full swing. The bridge construction of the opposite lane can be seen on the left.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (the official name is Lucius J. Kellam Jr. Bridge Tunnel ) is 37 km long and is one of the largest bridge and tunnel structures in the world. It connects the Hampton Roads , Virginia area with the Delmarva Peninsula (also called Eastern Shore ) via US Highway 13 . It was built in the period 1960–1964 (first construction phase) and 1995–1999.

history

After a trip from the Delmarva Peninsula to Hampton Roads was connected with a detour of several hundred kilometers around the Chesapeake Bay , a ferry service for the more direct 30 km long crossing was set up in the period from 1930 to 1954. As the volume of traffic increased, it was soon overloaded and no longer attractive in terms of time. In 1954 it was decided to build a fixed link. Construction began on September 7, 1960, and the opening took place on April 15, 1964.

In 1995, due to the excessive utilization, a second construction phase began, which doubled the number of lanes on the three bridge sections, but not in the two tunnels. This was completed in 1999.

In 2018, the construction of an additional parallel tunnel to the Thimble-Shoals Tunnel began, the completion of which is planned for 2022.

Awards

Data

  • The construction consists of three bridge parts (two 14.5 km each, one 5 km each) and two 1.7 km long tunnels. The transition from the bridge to the tunnel is accomplished by four artificial islands, each with a height of 20,000 m².
  • Around 1,000,000 tons of rock were used to build the islands.
  • The construction costs were approximately $ 200,000,000 for the first construction phase and approximately $ 250,000,000 for the second construction phase.
  • The trip on US 13 connects Virginia Beach and the Delmarva Peninsula. The one-way fare for a car is $ 13 or $ 15, depending on the season.

Web links

Commons : Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel  - Collection of Pictures, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ CBBT Project Description. Retrieved October 7, 2018 (American English).

Coordinates: 37 ° 1 '47.9 "  N , 76 ° 5' 8.9"  W.