Steel Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 36°44′11″N76°17′41″W / +36.73643°N 76.29477°W |
Carries | ![]() |
Crosses | Elizabeth River (Virginia) |
Locale | Chesapeake, Virginia |
Official name | Dominion Blvd. Steel Bridge |
Owner | City of Chesapeake |
ID number | 21875 |
Characteristics | |
Design | Bascule bridge |
Total length | 551.9 feet (168.2 m) |
Width | 27.9 feet (8.5 m) |
Longest span | 2 x 228.0 feet (69.5 m) |
Load limit | 84,000 pounds (38 t) |
Clearance below | 11.8 feet (3.6 m) |
History | |
Opened | 1962 |
Closed | December 2014 |
Replaced by | Veterans Bridge |
Location | |
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Dominion Boulevard Steel Bridge (known locally as simply the Steel Bridge) was a double-leaf bascule, two-lane drawbridge which spanned the Southern Branch Elizabeth River in the City of Chesapeake in South Hampton Roads in southeastern Virginia. Built in 1962 and operated by the City of Chesapeake, it carried U.S. Route 17 (US 17) which is Dominion Boulevard (formerly numbered as State Route 104). The corridor frequently acts as a bypass route for congested I-64 High Rise Bridge traffic.
Because of the low water clearance, bridge openings were commonplace for the bridge, with an average of 16 lifts per day. [1] Combined with an average daily traffic count of 33,000, it frequently became a choke point for commuters who lived in the Deep Creek part of the city, with a failing level of service on the entire stretch according to a during a 2006 traffic plan by the HRPTO. [2]
In January 2013, Chesapeake Public Works began construction on a $345 million fixed-bridge replacement project called the Veterans Bridge, which was completed in late 2017. It expanded Dominion Blvd. from two to four lanes from the intersection of Cedar Road & Moses Grady Trail to the interchange of Great Bridge Blvd. The Veterans Bridge is tolled, which started at the rate of $1 in 2017. This project is also a part of the planning for the future Interstate 87 that will connect the Raleigh-Durham Metro area to the Hampton Roads region. [3]
After the first span of the Veterans Bridge opened in December 2014, the Steel Bridge was shut down and demolished. [1]
Chesapeake is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 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 most populous city in the United States.
The Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel (HRBT) is a 3.5-mile (5.6 km)-long Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 60. It is a four-lane facility comprising bridges, trestles, man-made islands, and tunnels under the main shipping channels for Hampton Roads harbor in the southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States.
The Hampton Roads Beltway is a loop of Interstate 64 and Interstate 664, which links the communities of the Virginia Peninsula and South Hampton Roads which surround the body of water known as Hampton Roads and comprise much of the region of the same name in the southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States. It crosses the harbor of Hampton Roads at two locations on large four-laned bridge-tunnel facilities: the eastern half carries Interstate 64 and uses the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and the western half carries Interstate 664 and uses the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel. The beltway has the clockwise direction signed as the Inner Loop, and the counter-clockwise direction signed as the Outer Loop. The entire beltway, including the bridge-tunnels, is owned and operated by the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Interstate 264 (I-264) is an Interstate Highway in the US state of Virginia. It serves as the primary east–west highway through the South Hampton Roads region in southeastern Virginia. The route connects the central business districts of Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach and serves as the most direct link between those cities and the resort beaches along Virginia's Atlantic coast.
Military Highway is a four-to-eight-lane roadway built in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia, USA during World War II. Carrying US 13 for most of its length, it also carries US 58, and US 460 while in Chesapeake. It is a major alternate route for the Hampton Roads Beltway, crossing four major freeways along its length.
Interstate 464 (I-464) is an Interstate Highway in the US state of Virginia. The highway runs 5.67 miles (9.12 km) from U.S. Route 17 (US 17) and State Route 168 (SR 168) in Chesapeake north to I-264 in Norfolk. I-464 connects two major highway junctions in the South Hampton Roads region. At its southern end, the Interstate meets two major highways that head toward North Carolina, US 17 and SR 168, and I-64, which follows the southern side of the Hampton Roads Beltway. At its northern terminus, I-464 has connections with Downtown Norfolk and Portsmouth via I-264.
Interstate 564 (I-564) is an Interstate Highway in the US state of Virginia. Known as Admiral Taussig Boulevard, after US Navy Rear Admiral Edward D. Taussig, the Interstate runs 3.03 miles (4.88 km) from State Route 337 (SR 337) east to I-64 within the city of Norfolk. I-564 is the primary access highway to Naval Station Norfolk, the world's largest naval base. The Interstate also links I-64 with Norfolk International Terminals via SR 406 and the Wards Corner area of Norfolk through connections with U.S. Route 460 (US 460) and SR 165.
Transportation in the Commonwealth of Virginia is by land, sea and air. Virginia's extensive network of highways and railroads were developed and built over a period almost 400 years, beginning almost immediately after the founding of Jamestown in 1607, and often incorporating old established trails of the Native Americans.
State Route 168 is a primary state highway in the South Hampton Roads region of the U.S. state of Virginia. It runs from the border with North Carolina through the independent cities of Chesapeake and Norfolk where it ends in the Ocean View area near the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.
The Gilmerton Bridge, originally a twin bascule drawbridge, is now a vertical-lift bridge which spans the Southern Branch Elizabeth River in the City of Chesapeake in South Hampton Roads in southeastern Virginia. Completed in 1938, it carries U.S. Route 13 and US 460 and is part of Military Highway. The Gilmerton Bridge is operated by the City of Chesapeake.
U.S. Route 17 is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Punta Gorda, Florida to Winchester, Virginia. In Virginia, the U.S. Highway runs 255.83 miles (411.72 km) from the North Carolina state line in Chesapeake north to its northern terminus at US 11, US 50, and US 522 in Winchester. US 17 is a major highway in the eastern half of Virginia. The U.S. Highway connects the Albemarle Region of North Carolina with the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. Within the urban area, US 17 passes through the South Hampton Roads cities of Chesapeake, Portsmouth, and Suffolk and the Virginia Peninsula city of Newport News. Between Yorktown and Fredericksburg, the U.S. Highway serves as the primary highway of the Middle Peninsula. At Fredericksburg, US 17 leaves the Atlantic coastal plain; the highway passes through the Piedmont town of Warrenton and crosses the Blue Ridge Mountains on its way to Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley.The route from Tappahannock to Winchester roughly follows the Confederate March during the Civil War to Gettysburg.
State Route 165 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs 39.75 miles (63.97 km) from U.S. Route 17 Business in Chesapeake north to SR 337 in Norfolk. SR 165 is a C-shaped route that connects Chesapeake and Norfolk in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area indirectly via Virginia Beach. The highway's east–west segment connects the Chesapeake communities of Deep Creek and Great Bridge with the Princess Anne part of Virginia Beach. SR 165's northwest–southeast portion connects the Princess Anne area with Virginia Beach's Salem and Kempsville communities and with Norfolk. Within Norfolk, the state highway parallels Interstate 64 (I-64) while passing through the eastern and northern areas of the city near Norfolk International Airport and Naval Station Norfolk. Much of SR 165 is a multi-lane divided highway, but there are significant two-lane stretches in all three of the independent cities the highway serves.
State Route 166 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs 15.47 miles (24.90 km) from U.S. Route 17 in Chesapeake north to US 60 in Virginia Beach.
State Route 190 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs 15.43 miles (24.83 km) from SR 166 in Chesapeake east and north to SR 225 in Virginia Beach. SR 190 is a J-shaped route that connects the central part of Chesapeake with the western part of Virginia Beach.
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State Route 247 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs 5.31 miles (8.55 km) from SR 337 east to SR 165 within the independent city of Norfolk. SR 247 is a major east–west thoroughfare that connects U.S. Route 460 and Interstate 64 (I-64) with Norfolk International Airport.
Located in the southeastern corner of the state, Norfolk is economically and culturally important to Virginia. A variety of transportation modes have developed around the city's importance and somewhat unusual geography.
Historically, the harbor was the key to the Hampton Roads area's growth, both on land and in water-related activities and events. Ironically, the harbor and its tributary waterways were both important transportation conduits and obstacles to other land-based commerce and travel. For hundreds of years, state and community leaders have worked to develop solutions to accommodate both.
Interstate 87 (I-87) is a partially completed Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina, the shortest designated primary Interstate Highway at 12.9 miles (20.8 km). The completed portion is in eastern Wake County, between Raleigh and Wendell; the majority of the completed route is known as the Knightdale Bypass, while the remaining 3 miles (4.8 km) follows the Raleigh Beltline. It is planned to continue northeast through Rocky Mount, Williamston and Elizabeth City, ending in Norfolk, Virginia. It is signed as north-south, in keeping with the sign convention for most odd-numbered interstates, but the route goes primarily east-west, with the eastern direction aligning to the north designation. The entire route is concurrent with US 64, with portions also concurrent with I-440 and US 264.
The Veterans Bridge is a fixed span concrete bridge that spans the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River in the Deep Creek neighborhood of Chesapeake in southeastern Virginia, USA. The bridge, which partially opened in 2014, currently carries two lanes of U.S. Route 17 on each direction across its northbound and southbound spans. The corridor frequently acts as a bypass route for congested I-64 High Rise Bridge traffic. It replaces the much shorter and smaller Dominion Boulevard Steel Bridge, which because of its 11-foot underwater clearance opened on average of 16 times per day.
Coordinates: 36°44′10.9″N76°17′41.3″W / 36.736361°N 76.294806°W