Jordan Bridge
Encyclopedia
Jordan Bridge was a tolled
Toll bridge
A toll bridge is a bridge over which traffic may pass upon payment of a toll, or fee.- History :The practice of collecting tolls on bridges probably harks back to the days of ferry crossings where people paid a fee to be ferried across stretches of water. As boats became impractical to carry large...

 highway lift bridge
Lift bridge
A vertical-lift bridge or lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck....

 which carried State Route 337 over the southern branch of the Elizabeth River
Elizabeth River (Virginia)
The Elizabeth River is a tidal estuary forming an arm of Hampton Roads harbor at the southern end of Chesapeake Bay in southeast Virginia in the United States. It is located along the southern side of the mouth of the James River, between the cities of Portsmouth and Norfolk...

 from the City of Portsmouth
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...

 into the City of Chesapeake
Chesapeake, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 199,184 people, 69,900 households, and 54,172 families residing in the city. The population density was 584.6 people per square mile . There were 72,672 housing units at an average density of 213.3 per square mile...

 in South Hampton Roads
South Hampton Roads
South Hampton Roads is a region located in the extreme southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States, and is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA with a population about 1.7 million....

, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

.

Opened in 1928, it was privately built by an organization led by South Norfolk
South Norfolk, Virginia
South Norfolk was an independent city in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia and is now a section of the City of Chesapeake, one of the cities of Hampton Roads which surround the harbor of Hampton Roads and are linked by the Hampton Roads Beltway.-History:Located a few miles south of...

 businessmen Wallace and Carl Jordan. It was later renamed the Jordan Bridge, principally to honor long-standing manager Carl M. Jordan. The oldest drawbridge in Virginia, the 80-year old bridge had reached the end of its useful life by 2008. Faced with diminishing returns on millions of dollars in needed maintenance and unknown reliability, it was permanently closed on November 8, 2008.

A replacement bridge, to be built with 100% private funds, and paid for by tolls, was approved by Chesapeake City Council on January 27, 2009. The new South Norfolk Jordan Bridge was originally scheduled to be completed by July 2010, but is now expected to be completed in 2012.

Early history

Originally known as the Norfolk-Portsmouth Bridge, the bridge was planned and financing organized by South Norfolk
South Norfolk, Virginia
South Norfolk was an independent city in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia and is now a section of the City of Chesapeake, one of the cities of Hampton Roads which surround the harbor of Hampton Roads and are linked by the Hampton Roads Beltway.-History:Located a few miles south of...

 businessman Carl M. Jordan, who operated Jordan Brothers Lumber Co. with his brother Wallace. The Jordan brothers brought lumber from the Great Dismal Swamp
Great Dismal Swamp
The Great Dismal Swamp is a marshy area on the Coastal Plain Region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina in the United States. It is located in parts of southern Chesapeake and Suffolk in Virginia, as well as northern...

 to their lumber mill in South Norfolk, and had come to believe that the existing Norfolk County Ferry Service was not dependable enough for the needs of their business, or others in the community.

It was a Waddell
John Alexander Low Waddell
John Alexander Low Waddell was an American civil engineer and prolific bridge designer, with more than a thousand structures to his credit in the United States, Canada, as well as Mexico, Russia, China, Japan, and New Zealand...

 & Harrington vertical lift drawbridge and was designed by Harrington, Howard, & Ash (engineers) of Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

. It was completed at a cost of $1.25 million, and opened on August 24, 1928 as a toll bridge
Toll bridge
A toll bridge is a bridge over which traffic may pass upon payment of a toll, or fee.- History :The practice of collecting tolls on bridges probably harks back to the days of ferry crossings where people paid a fee to be ferried across stretches of water. As boats became impractical to carry large...

 with a ceremony attended by Virginia's Governor Harry F. Byrd
Harry F. Byrd
Harry Flood Byrd, Sr. of Berryville in Clarke County, Virginia, was an American newspaper publisher, farmer and politician. He was a descendant of one of the First Families of Virginia...

.

Many years later, the bridge was renamed for Carl Jordan, who had also served as general manager and executive vice president of the South Norfolk Bridge Commission, Inc., a non-profit corporation organized in 1944 to manage the bridge. Ownership of the bridge was transferred to the City of Chesapeake
Chesapeake, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 199,184 people, 69,900 households, and 54,172 families residing in the city. The population density was 584.6 people per square mile . There were 72,672 housing units at an average density of 213.3 per square mile...

 after the Bridge Commission's indebtedness was finally satisfied in 1977.

Incidents: collisions with ships, mechanical failure

The southern branch of the Elizabeth River is heavily used by ocean-going vessels to reach industrial facilities and a shipyard upstream from the Jordan Bridge. Traffic bound for the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway also passes through this point.

The Jordan Bridge was struck by ships several times. On June 2, 1939, an oil tanker struck it, and the east tower and lift span collapsed into the river, injuring two bridge employees, and closing it for more than 6 months. Another major collision of a ship occurred on June 13, 1943. The most recent collision with a ship was in January, 2004.

In more recent years, there were periodic problems with the lift mechanism in addition to occasional collisions. When stuck in the "down" position, navigation for ocean-going vessels was severely inhibited, leading to concerns by shipping companies, ship operators and the U.S. Navy, whose shipyard is just downstream from the span. The equipment was mechanically obsolete, and repair parts were often unavailable.

Modern use

In recent years, the bridge was heavily traveled during morning and afternoon rush hours by motor vehicle traffic. A substantial portion of those were shipyard workers from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...

. Navy personnel assigned to the ships docked there also commute from homes in the eastern portion of South Hampton Roads, which includes the cities of Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

 and Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...

 and a large portion of the City of Chesapeake.

The Jordan Bridge had also served effectively as an alternate route when other key river crossings in the area were congested or closed, most notably after Hurricane Isabel
Hurricane Isabel
Hurricane Isabel was the costliest and deadliest hurricane in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. The ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Isabel formed near the Cape Verde Islands from a tropical wave on September 6 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean...

 in October 2003 when the Midtown Tunnel connecting Portsmouth and Norfolk was flooded. Tolls on the Jordan Bridge were temporarily suspended, and daily traffic increased by 20,000 vehicles.

As the bridge and its approaches have only one lane in each direction, traffic backups and delays often occurred in more recent years. The Jordan Bridge was the oldest drawbridge in Virginia. Formerly operated by the City of Chesapeake's Department of Public Works, it had a restricted weight limit of 3 tons. Daily toll revenue was approximately $5,000. The toll (collected on the Chesapeake side) for both direction was 50 cents for motorcycles, 75 cents for two axle vehicles, $1.00 for three axles and $1.25 for four axles. There were no facilities for electronic toll collection
Electronic toll collection
Electronic toll collection , an adaptation of military "identification friend or foe" technology, aims to eliminate the delay on toll roads by collecting tolls electronically. It is thus a technological implementation of a road pricing concept...

.

Permanent closing: November 2008

City of Chesapeake officials have stated that replacing the bridge is not being considered. Cost estimates linger in the $200 million range, too much for a bridge that carries about 7,500 vehicles daily and far fewer on weekends. However, a replacement bridge has been considered as part of some long-range regional transportation plans. The Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization has studied the impact of building a new bridge in this location as part of a limited-access highway connecting Interstate 464
Interstate 464
Interstate 464 is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The highway runs from U.S. Route 17 and Virginia State Route 168 in Chesapeake north to I-264 in Norfolk. I-464 connects two major highway junctions in the South Hampton Roads region...

 in Chesapeake to Interstate 264
Interstate 264 (Virginia)
Interstate 264 is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. It runs from a junction with Interstate 64 and Interstate 664 near Bowers Hill in Chesapeake east into Portsmouth and through the Downtown Tunnel under the South Branch of the Elizabeth River into Norfolk...

 (near Frederick Blvd.) and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Freeway in Portsmouth.

The toll was last increased on July 1, 2003 to finance several immediate repairs and improvements and launch an evidently ineffective ten-year restoration program to extend the life of the Bridge.

On August 19, 2008, Chesapeake's City Manager William Harrell announced his recommendation that the bridge be permanently closed by the end of the year. The alternative would be an expenditure of $4 million in repairs to the bridge's aging deck and beams within the next year, and an additional $13 million in repairs within the next 10 years.

On October 14, 2008, Chesapeake City Council unanimously decided to shut down the bridge, effective November 8. City officials said the cost to permanently remove the bridge will be $2.3 million. Harrell said "the city cannot handle all of the transportation demands before us." The local Metropolitan Planning Organization
Metropolitan planning organization
A metropolitan planning organization is a federally-mandated and federally-funded transportation policy-making organization in the United States that is made up of representatives from local government and governmental transportation authorities...

 (MPO) funded a Hampton Roads Transit
Hampton Roads Transit
Hampton Roads Transit a.k.a. "HRT" formed in October 1999 by the voluntary merging of PENTRAN on the Virginia Peninsula and TRT Hampton Roads Transit a.k.a. "HRT" formed in October 1999 by the voluntary merging of PENTRAN (Peninsula Transportation District Commission) on the Virginia Peninsula and...

 (HRT) express commuter bus
Transit bus
A transit bus , also known as a commuter bus, city bus, or public bus, is a bus used for short-distance public transport purposes...

 service from the South Norfolk neighborhood of Chesapeake to downtown Portsmouth and Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...

 after the closure of the bridge, but discontinued it in January 2009 due to very low ridership.

Regional transportation funding shortages

According to city officials, there are no funding sources currently identified to replace the bridge, and many other pressing needs, including replacement of the 70-year old Gilmerton Bridge
Gilmerton Bridge
Gilmerton Bridge is a Twin Bascule Drawbridge which spans the southern branch of the Elizabeth River in the City of Chesapeake in South Hampton Roads in southeastern Virginia. Completed in 1938, it carries U.S. Highway 13 and U.S. Highway 460 and is part of the Military Highway...

 on Military Highway
Military Highway
Military Highway is a four-lane roadway built in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia, USA during World War II.- Original construction :...

 and the Steel Bridge
Dominion Boulevard Steel Bridge
Dominion Boulevard Steel Bridge is a double leaf bascule, two lane drawbridge which spans the southern branch of the Elizabeth River in the City of Chesapeake in South Hampton Roads in southeastern Virginia. It carries U.S. Route 17 in Virginia which is Dominion Boulevard...

 on U.S. Route 17
U.S. Route 17 in Virginia
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 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 early 21st century, the Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

 region of Virginia has faced increasing transportation challenges as it has become largely urbanized, with additional traffic needs, and as infrastructure originally built with toll revenues
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...

 has aged without a source of funding to repair them or build replacements.

The Jordan Bridge and the now-closed Kings Highway Bridge
Kings Highway Bridge
Kings Highway Bridge was located on the Nansemond River in the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia, United States. Built in 1928, it carried traffic on the Kings Highway, also known as State Route 125, for over 75 years....

 in neighboring Suffolk
Suffolk, Virginia
Suffolk is the largest city by area in Virginia, United States, and is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 84,585. Its median household income was $57,546.-History:...

, each built in the 1920s, are considered locally prime examples of this situation. The cost of a new bridge at either crossing is estimated to be far more than could be recovered through collection of tolls at these locations.

Leaders in Virginia are currently actively discussing unfunded transportation needs, particularly in the Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...

 and Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

 regions. In Hampton Roads, the possibility of collecting new tolls on certain major facilities (other than the Jordan Bridge) which are currently not tolled is a source of major funding under active consideration .

The Hampton Roads Transportation Authority
Hampton Roads Transportation Authority
Hampton Roads Transportation Authority is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States that has the responsibility for funding several major traffic projects in the Hampton Roads area...

 (HRTA) was created in July 2007 after enabling legislation was passed in the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...

 and the required number of localities approved. However, replacements for the Kings Highway and Jordan bridges are not among the proposed HRTA projects. Further stymieing efforts to raise funds, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that most of the taxing provisions of the HRTA legislation were unconstitutional.

A special session of the Virginia General Assembly convened in June 2008 failed to generate any major solutions.

A New Bridge

In 2008, an unsolicited proposal was received to build a replacement bridge with 100% private funds. The proposal was approved by Chesapeake City Council on January 27, 2009. The Private Bridge developers are Figg Bridge Developers, the company responsible for rebuilding the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 in Minneapolis, MN in eleven months following its disastrous collapse in August 2007. Figg Bridge Developers teamed with Britton Hill Partners to provide the necessary financing at no risk to any of the local or state governmental agencies. The project is also considered to be innovative since it will involve the transfer of outright land to a developer for the construction of a major public thoroughfare.

The new bridge will feature a two dollar toll in each direction and a pedestrian walkway. Plans presented by the developers also indicate the design facilitates an expansion to four lanes, should same be desired at a future date. The new South Norfolk Jordan Bridge is expected to be completed by fall 2011.

External links

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