Operating since April 1964, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel functions both as a bridge and a tunnel, as its name implies. After the $200 million structure's completion, the American Society of Civil Engineers named it "one of the seven engineering wonders of the modern world."
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel (CBBT) is a 23-mile (37 km) fixed link, crossing the entrance of Chesapeake Bay in the U.S. state of Virginia. It connects Northampton County on the Delmarva Peninsula with Virginia Beach and originally combined 12 miles (19 km) of trestle, two 1-mile-long (1.6 km) tunnels, four artificial islands, four high-level bridges, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) of causeway, and 5.5 miles (8.9 km) of approach roads.
CBBT came to replace vehicle ferry services that operated from South Hampton Roads and from the Virginia Peninsula from the 1930s. To construct it, workers dug huge underwater ditches for two tunnels and lined them with rocks. They then lowered plugged-up pieces of the concrete tunnel into the ditches. To allow cars to drive through, the workers then unplugged the tunnel pieces.
Water depth along the CBBT ranges from 25 to 100 feet, according to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission. The structure still remains one of the ten bridge–tunnel systems in the world, three of which are located in Hampton Roads, Virginia.
The 23-mile bridge-tunnel included only one northbound and one southbound lane until 1999, when one more lane was added in each direction. Over 100 million cars and trucks have driven on the bridge-tunnel since 1964.
Construction of a $755 million parallel tunnel that would help alleviate traffic is expected to begin in fall 2017 and be completed by 2022. Called the Thimble Shoal Channel, it would connect to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel's existing roadway.
For further information and a photo gallery of the bridge, you may visit the CBBT official website.
Sources: Business Insider, cbbt.com
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