James River Bridge | |
|---|---|
 The 1928 bridge, replaced from 1975 to 1982 | |
| Coordinates | 36°59′28″N76°29′01″W / 36.9910°N 76.4836°W /36.9910; -76.4836 |
| Carries | 4 lanes of   US 17 /US 258 /SR 32 |
| Crosses | James River |
| Locale | Isle of Wight County, VA toNewport News, VA |
| Maintained by | Virginia DOT |
| ID number | 10364[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | steellift bridge[1] |
| Total length | 7,071.4 m (23,200 ft)[1] |
| Width | 20.8 m (68 ft)[1] |
| Longest span | 126.5 m (415 ft)[1] |
| Clearance above | 4.87 m (16.0 ft)[1] |
| Clearance below | 44.1 m (145 ft) open[1] 18.2 m (60 ft) closed[1] |
| History | |
| Opened | 1928; 97 years ago (1928)(original bridge) 1982; 43 years ago (1982)(current bridge)[2] |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of James River Bridge | |
TheJames River Bridge (JRB) is a four-lanedivided highwaylift bridge across theJames River in the Commonwealth ofVirginia. Owned and operated by theVirginia Department of Transportation, it carriesU.S. Route 17 (US 17),US 258, andState Route 32 across the river near its mouth atHampton Roads. The bridge connectsNewport News on theVirginia Peninsula withIsle of Wight County in theSouth Hampton Roads region, and is the easternmost such crossing without atunnel component.
When completed in 1928, the 4.39-mile (7.07 km) bridge was the longest bridge in the world over water.[3] The original two-lane bridge was replaced from 1975 to 1982 with a wider four-lane bridge that could handle increased traffic volumes. In 2005, the bridge carried anannual average daily traffic of about 30,000 vehicles per day.[4]
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Theprivately ownedJames River Bridge Corporation was chartered by theGeneral Assembly to build a system of bridges across theJames River,Chuckatuck Creek, andNansemond River, as well as approach roads.[5] On theNewport News end, the bridge simply ended at an intersection withState Route 39/U.S. Route 60 (Virginia Avenue, now Warwick Boulevard).[6] However, a large system of approach roads, including two smaller toll bridges, was built on theIsle of Wight County side. Traffic coming off the bridge reached aY intersection atBartlett, at which it could head west over a private approach road pastCarrollton toState Route 10 atBenns Church, or head southeast intoNansemond County. The first of the two smaller bridges was theCrittenden Bridge overChuckatuck Creek (the county line) atCrittenden, and the second, after passing the road toHobson andChuckatuck (nowState Route 628), was theNansemond River Bridge over theNansemond River. The end of the private approach road was at the current intersection of Bennetts Pasture Road (State Route 627) and Lee Farm Lane (State Route 701), where one could go south toState Route 10 (nowState Route 337) atDriver.[7][8] So the James River Bridge System served not only traffic crossing the James River, but also traffic along State Route 10; the 1928 Chuckatuck-DriverKings Highway Bridge (nowState Route 125) competed with the James River Bridge System for this traffic. Projected traffic volumes were not reached, leading tobankruptcy of the James River Bridge Corporation. It was bought bybondholders, headed by a local businessman fromSmithfield. The new owners raised tolls, proving unpopular with local residents.[9] Chapter 399 of the Acts of Virginia of 1940 authorized the SHC to acquire the James River Bridge System, consisting of the three bridges and approach roads. The SHC bought the system from the corporation for $5.6 million[10] on September 30, 1949.[11] (equivalent to $58 million in 2024 dollars).
The $5.2 million James River Bridge was opened on November 17, 1928, by the press of a button inWashington, D.C., where U.S. PresidentCalvin Coolidge, sitting in theOval Office of theWhite House, sent an electric signal to lower into place the upraised lift span over the James River channel.[12] Drivers could now choose to cross Hampton Roads on a fixed bridge rather than one of manyferries. The new bridge was narrow by current standards, with a 20-foot (6.1 m) roadway from curb to curb, and railings much less substantial than found on modern structures.[citation needed] The main lift span was 300 feet (91 m) long; the other two bridges included 110-foot (34 m)bascule spans.[13]
In 1928, State Route 503, astate highway fromPortsmouth viaChurchland andBelleville to the private approach road south of the Nansemond River, was added to the state highway system. This designation was removed in 1931.[14][15][16]U.S. Route 17 was moved onto this alignment (from one of the ferries) by 1932, and still uses it today.[17]
As early as 1933, theState Highway Commission (SHC) considered taking over the bridge approaches - but not the bridges themselves - from the corporation.[18]
State Route 258, now part ofU.S. Route 258, was extended over the Benns Church approach and bridge by late 1943 to reach the newMercury Boulevard.[19]
In 1949, the state brought the bridge from the previous owners.
In 1951,State Route 32 was extended fromSuffolk over the bridge to end in Newport News, completelyoverlapped with other routes, "to facilitate the routing of traffic over the James River Bridge System, between points north of Newport News and south of Suffolk".[20]
In 1955, the state doubled tolls to $1.80 round trip for cars (equivalent to $21.13 in 2024 dollars) and $4.00 or more for trucks[9] (equivalent to $46.95 in 2024 dollars) in order to pay for repairs, new toll booths, and a newpunched card system compatible with theHampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. The toll plazas, which had numbered three - one for each bridge - were consolidated to two, one at the south end of the main bridge and one at the north end of theNansemond River Bridge. Thus theCrittenden Bridge became free for local traffic. In addition, passenger vehicles andlight trucks only had to pay at the first booth they reached; large trucks and buses had to pay twice. This meant that light vehicles crossing only the main bridge (for instance between Smithfield and Newport News) only had to pay southbound.[11] Tolls were eventually dropped to 10 cents per axle.
J.W. Luter, Jr. of the localSmithfield Packing Company rerouted his trucks via a smaller, cheaper bridge owned by aNorfolk car dealer.[9]
Tolls were removed on June 3, 1976; the state paid off the remaining bonds at that time. Simultaneously, the parallelHampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel opened, and tolls were removed from that facility, theColeman Bridge, and theRobert O. Norris Bridge.[21] Many considered this an important step in the development of the area.[22]
In 1978,Bicycles,mopeds, andpedestrians were banned from using the bridge; the easternmost crossing for them is theJamestown Ferry, about 25 miles (40 km) upstream.[23] TheState Highway and Transportation Commission banned these transportation modes from using the bridge in 1978 "in the interest of safety", due to high traffic and lack ofsidewalks.[24] Once the replacement bridge was completed, they returned to the question in 1983, and decided to continue the ban, since the new bridge also had no sidewalks or sufficient recovery area.[25]
A new four-lane lift bridge was completed in stages from 1975 to 1982. During construction, the two southbound lanes of the new bridge were completed first and carried northbound traffic while the old bridge carried two lanes of southbound traffic until the northbound lanes of the new bridge were completed. When the northbound lanes of the new bridge opened the old bridge was demolished, but a 0.75-mile (1.21 km) section on the Newport News side was retained for use as a fishing pier. Now known as the James River Pier, it is the longest fishing pier on the East Coast.
At theNewport News end, traffic approaches the bridge at a six-ramppartial cloverleaf interchange, whereMercury Boulevard (carryingU.S. Route 17,U.S. Route 258, andState Route 32 onto the bridge) passes over Warwick Boulevard (U.S. Route 60). After an intersection with River Road and the entrance toHuntington Park, the four-lanedivided bridge begins, lying to the southeast a part of the old bridge that remains as afishing pier. The 126.5 m (415 ft)lift span over the shipping channel, with a clearance of 44.1 m (145 ft) when raised and 18.2 m (60 ft) when lowered, is about 1/4 of the way along the 7.0714 km (4.3940 mi) bridge.[1] This allows ocean-going ships to pass en route to civilian port facilities inHopewell and at thePort of Richmond.
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The roadway becomes Carrollton Boulevard on theIsle of Wight County end; after a number of intersections, US 258 and SR 32 turn west atBartlett towardsState Route 10 atBenns Church, while US 17 curves southeast towardsPortsmouth.
The nearest upstream crossing of the James River is theJamestown Ferry (State Route 31); the next fixed crossing is the 1966Benjamin Harrison Bridge (State Route 156) atHopewell. When the bridge opened in 1928, the next bridge upstream was the 1913Mayo Bridge inRichmond.
Downstream, both crossings ofHampton Roads arebridge-tunnels for military reasons: the 1992Monitor-Merrimac Bridge-Tunnel (Interstate 664) and 1957Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (Interstate 64/U.S. Route 60).
The toll building and parking area were used for maintenance workers, police, and tow truck drivers, from their usedness being obsoleted in 1976 up until 2002, when it was demolished afterasbestos was discovered.Preservationists have argued the building had historic significance.[9]
Due to severe corrosion of the metal beams that supported the deck of the 86-year-old bridge structure, the James River Pier was demolished and rebuilt with concrete in 2015.
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