Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT), officially known as the Lucius J. Kellam Jr. Bridge-Tunnel, is one of the most remarkable transportation structures in the United States. A 17.6-mile (28.3 km) bridge–tunnel, it crosses the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay between the Delmarva Peninsula and Hampton Roads in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The southern terminus of the crossing falls within the city of Virginia Beach, making the CBBT a defining piece of the city's infrastructure and identity. Completed in 1964 and recognized by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1965 as one of the "Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World," the structure is comprised of bridges, tunnels, and land roads that span a total of twenty-three miles. The facility carries U.S. Route 13, and its existence fundamentally shapes regional commerce, tourism, and daily life for residents of Virginia Beach and the surrounding Hampton Roads area.

Background and Pre-Construction History

For centuries, the waters of the Chesapeake Bay posed a formidable barrier to travel between Virginia's Eastern Shore and the mainland. For two and a half centuries, the waters of the Chesapeake Bay served as a barrier to continuous travel from Virginia's Eastern Shore to its mainland. As early as 1705, packet ships and then in 1880, bay steamers ploughed back and forth between the lower tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore and the Hampton Roads-Norfolk area.

Starting in the early 1930s, the only way to get from the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area to Virginia's Eastern Shore was via private ferry service. Through bond financing, the Commission acquired the private ferry corporation in May 1956 to improve ferry service between Virginia's Eastern Shore and the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area and to implement ferry service between the Eastern Shore and the Hampton/Newport News area. The seven-ship fleet made 90 one-way crossings each day, carrying millions of passengers on the 85-minute cruise across the Chesapeake Bay.

With growth in the Tidewater area and increased travel and commerce along the East Coast, the ferry system could not keep up with the ever-increasing volume of traffic. The only permanent solution was to replace the ferry system with one of the boldest projects ever undertaken: a Bridge-Tunnel across the Bay.

The Virginia General Assembly created the Chesapeake Bay Ferry District and the Chesapeake Bay Ferry Commission as the governing body of the District in 1954, primarily for the purpose of re-establishing Cape Charles–Old Point Comfort ferry service. In 1957, completion of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel demonstrated the potential for a bridge-tunnel combination to overcome the long distance between the Eastern Shore and Virginia Beach, without impeding ship traffic at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The General Assembly subsequently authorized the Ferry Commission to explore the construction of a fixed crossing.

Construction

The selected route at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay crosses two major Atlantic shipping channels. High-level bridges were initially considered for spanning the channels but were objected to by the U.S. Navy and the state of Maryland. Officials expressed concerns that a bridge collapse could isolate critical maritime infrastructure from the Atlantic Ocean. Engineers proposed a solution in a series of bridges and tunnels, similar to the 3.5-mile Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel that was completed in 1957, just 10 miles west where the James River meets Chesapeake Bay.

The Chesapeake Bay Ferry Commission sold $200 million in revenue bonds to private investors. No local, state, or federal tax money was used in the construction of the project. Five times longer than the neighboring Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel began construction in October 1960.

The tunnels were constructed by excavating a large trench for each tunnel and lowering prefabricated tunnel sections from barges. The sections were then aligned and bolted together by divers, the water pumped out, and each section covered with earth.

Four artificial islands, constructed in water averaging 40 feet (12 metres) in depth, provide portals by which the roadway enters the tunnels. The 858 bridge spans of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel are 30 feet high above the water, to avoid wave action and to allow small boats to pass. The spans are supported by 4,805 concrete pilings driven into the sediments at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay.

In less than four years, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was completed, opening on April 15, 1964. Following its opening, the Bridge-Tunnel was selected "One of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World" in a worldwide competition that included more than one hundred major projects.

Engineering and Physical Description

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel connects the Virginia mainland at the city of Virginia Beach directly with the Delmarva Peninsula. With 12 miles (19 km) of bridges and two one-mile-long (1.6 km) tunnels, the CBBT is one of only 14 bridge–tunnel systems in the world and one of three in both Hampton Roads and the United States.

From the mainland, the CBBT extends U.S. highway Route 13 over the water with a pair of two-lane bridges. After a few miles, the bridges connect and dip underground into a small manmade island and tunnel to allow the passage of ships on the bay. The roadway resurfaces at a second manmade island approximately one mile after the first. It then splits again into two bridges for several miles until the next tunnel, which mirrors the first in its construction. Some miles after the second tunnel, the bridge lands on the tip of the Delmarva Peninsula at Cape Charles, Virginia, and Route 13 continues north.

The combination of bridges and tunnels crosses 17.6 miles of water from shore to shore, enabling over 3.5 million vehicles each year to cross from Northampton County to the City of Virginia Beach. Between the toll plazas on the north and south ends, the bridge-tunnel is 20 miles long. Counting the approach roads, the facility is 23 miles long.

The CBBT carries US 13, which saves motorists roughly 95 miles (153 km) and 1½ hours on trips between Hampton Roads and the Delaware Valley and points north compared with other routes through the Washington–Baltimore Metropolitan Area.

Administration and Governance

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. Its construction was financed by toll revenue bonds, while operating and maintenance expenses are recovered through tolls.

The District is managed by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission, an 11-member commission appointed by the governor to represent eight local jurisdictions and the state. Two members are from Accomack County, two members from Northampton County, and one member each from Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Hampton, and Newport News. The governor also appoints one member to represent the state.

Eastern Shore native, businessman, and civic leader Lucius J. Kellam Jr. (1911–1995) was the original commission's first chairman. Commission chairman Lucius J. Kellam Jr., for whom the CBBT was named in 1987, was the strongest advocate for building a two-lane CBBT. 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.

The CBBT is the only automobile transportation facility in Virginia with its own police department. By original charter from the state, it has authority to enforce the laws of Virginia.

Expansion and Modernization

Late in the 1980s, the commission began researching an expansion. Not only was traffic beginning to back up, but the two-lane roadway was also dangerously narrow. By 1989, it was concluded that parallel bridges, trestles, and roadways would be needed by the year 2000 to meet future traffic demands and provide a safer crossing for travelers. In 1990, the Virginia General Assembly empowered the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Commission with the authority to proceed with the parallel crossing project.

In 1995, revenue bonds were sold to finance the construction of the Parallel Crossing Project and on May 4, the project was awarded to a joint venture of PCL Civil Constructors, Inc., the Hardaway Company, and Interbeton, Inc. in the amount of $197,185,777. The older portion of the bridge tunnel also needed restoration. At a cost of $197 million contracted to various construction firms, the parallel bridge and renovation project was completed and the roadway reopened on April 19, 1999.

Looking further into the future, a second major expansion project was launched. In 2017, the Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel Project broke ground on a new two-lane tunnel under Thimble Shoal Channel, connecting two of the artificial islands in parallel to the existing tunnel. The Commission awarded Phase II of the Parallel Crossing Project to Chesapeake Tunnel Joint Venture in the amount of $756,987,318. Once both tunnel projects are fully complete, the entire length of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel will become a four-lane highway from shore to shore.

Tourism and Recreational Use

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. The bridge-tunnel attracts tourists of its own. For the cost of the toll to cross the CBBT, one can go fishing on the bridge pier, eat at the restaurant, or purchase souvenirs at the gift shop on one of the manmade islands, or stop at various scenic spots for pictures.

The manmade islands, located in the open water with views of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean, are constructed of concrete, steel, asphalt and rock, support the underwater tunnels, and provide rest stops for migrating shorebirds during spring and fall. The islands have become a popular destination for birdwatchers drawn by this unusual ecological niche in the middle of the open bay.

Drivers who are afraid to cross the facility can make arrangements for workers at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to drive their vehicles. During 2015, over 400 drivers with phobias and fears took advantage of this service.

The funnel between Eastern Shore and Virginia Beach can create strong winds that are a safety risk on the bridge-tunnel. There are six levels of restrictions, starting with limits on campers and towed vehicles when wind speeds reach 40 miles per hour. The bridge-tunnel is closed to all tractor trailers when speeds reach 60 miles per hour.

It takes approximately 25 minutes to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. About 4 million vehicles use the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel each year; half of them are from Virginia, and half from out-of-state.