View source for James River Bridge

{{For|the bridge in Richmond|James River Bridge (Interstate 95)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox Bridge
 | bridge_name       = James River Bridge
 | image             = James-river-bridge.jpg
 | caption           = The 1928 bridge, replaced from 1975 to 1982
 | carries           = 4 lanes of {{jct|state=VA|US|17|US|258|SR|32}}
 | crosses           = [[James River (Virginia)|James River]]
 | locale            = [[Isle of Wight County, Virginia|Isle of Wight County, VA]] to [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News, VA]]
 | maint             = [[Virginia Department of Transportation|Virginia DOT]]
 | id                = 10364<ref name=NBI>[[National Bridge Inventory]] Data, December 2003</ref>
 | coordinates       = {{coord|36.9910|N|76.4836|W|scale:100000|display=inline,title}}
 | open              = {{start date and age|1928}}(original bridge)<br />{{start date and age|1982}}(current bridge)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060917015944/http://www.virginiadot.org/bulletin/2006SpecialEdition/ferry.asp VDOT Bulletin, May-June 2006, Bridges, Tunnels and Ferries]</ref><!--NBI says 1980 - probably the completion of the lift span-->
 | below             = {{convert|44.1|m|ft|abbr=on}} open<ref name=NBI/><br />{{convert|18.2|m|ft|abbr=on}} closed<ref name=NBI/>
 | design            = [[steel]] [[lift bridge]]<ref name=NBI/>
 | mainspan          = {{convert|126.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name=NBI/>
 | length            = {{convert|7,071.4|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name=NBI/>
 | width             = {{convert|20.8|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name=NBI/>
 | clearance         = {{convert|4.87|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name=NBI/>
}}
The '''James River Bridge''' ('''JRB''') is a four-lane [[divided highway]] [[lift bridge]] across the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]] in the Commonwealth of [[Virginia]]. Owned and operated by the [[Virginia Department of Transportation]], it carries [[U.S. Route 17 in Virginia|U.S. Route 17]] (US&nbsp;17), [[U.S. Route 258 in Virginia|US&nbsp;258]], and [[Virginia State Route 32|State Route 32]] across the river near its mouth at [[Hampton Roads]]. The bridge connects [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]] on the [[Virginia Peninsula]] with [[Isle of Wight County, Virginia|Isle of Wight County]] in the [[South Hampton Roads]] region, and is the easternmost such crossing without a [[tunnel]] component.

When completed in 1928, the {{convert|4.39|mi|km|adj=on}} bridge was the longest bridge in the world over water.<ref>[http://www.roadstothefuture.com/US17_JRB.html James River Bridge (US-17)], ''Roads to the Future'' (accessed July 31, 2013)</ref> 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 an [[annual average daily traffic]] of about 30,000 vehicles per day.<ref name="traffic counts Isle of Wight">{{cite web|url=http://www.virginiadot.org/info/resources/AADT_046_IsleofWight_2005.pdf |title=2005 Virginia Department of Transportation Jurisdiction Report - Daily Traffic Volume Estimates - Isle of Wight County |access-date=2011-08-19}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:James River Bridge (circa 1960).jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The original James River Bridge, circa 1960.]]
The [[private company|privately owned]] '''James River Bridge Corporation'''<!--was it Company at first?--> was chartered<!--when?--> by the [[General Assembly (Virginia)|General Assembly]] to build a system of bridges across the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]], [[Chuckatuck Creek]], and [[Nansemond River]], as well as approach roads.<ref>{{CTB minutes|04-1927-02|page=2}}</ref> On the [[Newport News, VA|Newport News]] end, the bridge simply ended at an intersection with [[State Route 39]]/[[U.S. Route 60 (Virginia)|U.S. Route 60]] (Virginia Avenue, now Warwick Boulevard).<ref name="Warwick map">[http://lvaimage.lib.va.us/cgi-bin/vhip_subjects/vhip.pl?&map=wrw Map of Warwick County]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, late 1920s</ref> However, a large system of approach roads, including two smaller toll bridges, was built on the [[Isle of Wight County, VA|Isle of Wight County]] side. Traffic coming off the bridge reached a [[Y intersection]] at [[Bartlett, Virginia|Bartlett]], at which it could head west over a private approach road past [[Carrollton, Virginia|Carrollton]] to [[State Route 10 (Virginia pre-1933)|State Route 10]] at [[Benns Church, Virginia|Benns Church]], or head southeast into [[Nansemond County, VA|Nansemond County]]. The first of the two smaller bridges was the [[Crittenden Bridge]] over [[Chuckatuck Creek]] (the county line) at [[Crittenden, Virginia|Crittenden]], and the second, after passing the road to [[Hobson, Virginia|Hobson]] and [[Chuckatuck, Virginia|Chuckatuck]] (now [[State Route 628 (Suffolk, Virginia)|State Route 628]]), was the [[Nansemond River Bridge]] over the [[Nansemond 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 to [[State Route 10 (Virginia pre-1933)|State Route 10]] (now [[State Route 337 (Virginia)|State Route 337]]) at [[Driver, Virginia|Driver]].<ref name="Nansemond map">[http://lvaimage.lib.va.us/cgi-bin/vhip_subjects/vhip.pl?&map=nan Map of Nansemond County]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, revised July 1, 1936</ref><ref name="Isle of Wight map">[http://lvaimage.lib.va.us/cgi-bin/vhip_subjects/vhip.pl?&map=iwi Map of Isle of Wight County]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, revised July 1, 1936</ref> So the James River Bridge System served not only traffic crossing the James River, but also traffic along State Route 10; the 1928 Chuckatuck-Driver [[Kings Highway Bridge]] (now [[State Route 125 (Virginia)|State Route 125]]) competed with the James River Bridge System for this traffic. Projected traffic volumes were not reached, leading to [[bankruptcy]] of the James River Bridge Corporation.<!--when?--> It was bought by [[bondholder]]s, headed by a local businessman from [[Smithfield, VA|Smithfield]]. The new owners raised tolls, proving unpopular with local residents.<ref name="Groups driven to save James River toll plaza">Lon Wagner, [https://web.archive.org/web/20050428193007/http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/print.cfm?story=71958&ran=179592 Groups driven to save James River toll plaza], [[The Virginian-Pilot]], June 20, 2004</ref> 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<ref>{{CTB minutes|09-1949-01|pages=4 and 6}}</ref> on September 30, 1949.<ref name=10-1954-02>{{CTB minutes|10-1954-02|pages=143, 172, and 173}}</ref> (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US-GDP|5.6|1949|fmt=c|r=0}} million in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars).

The $5.2 million James River Bridge was opened on November 17, 1928, by the press of a button in [[Washington, D.C.]], where U.S. President [[Calvin Coolidge]], sitting in the [[Oval Office]] of the [[White House]], sent an electric signal to lower into place the upraised lift span over the James River channel.<ref>[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Hampton Roads Daily Press]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20010617185024/http://hrticket.com/top/1%2C1419%2CN-HRTicket-History-X%21ArticleDetail-6569%2C00.html The crossing of the James River]</ref> Drivers could now choose to cross Hampton Roads on a fixed bridge rather than one of many [[ferry|ferries]]. The new bridge was narrow by current standards, with a {{convert|20|ft|m|adj=on}} roadway from curb to curb, and railings much less substantial than found on modern structures.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} The main lift span was {{convert|300|ft|m}} long; the other two bridges included {{convert|110|ft|m|adj=on}} [[bascule bridge|bascule span]]s.<ref>{{CTB minutes|10-1954-02|page=184}}</ref>

In 1928, State Route 503, a [[state highway]] from [[Portsmouth, VA|Portsmouth]] via [[Churchland, Virginia|Churchland]] and [[Belleville, Virginia|Belleville]] to the private approach road south of the Nansemond River, was added to the state highway system. This designation was removed in 1931.<ref>{{CTB minutes|08-1928-02|page=32}}</ref><ref>{{CTB minutes|08-1929-01|page=17}}</ref><ref>{{CTB minutes|12-1930-02|page=14}}</ref>
[[U.S. Route 17 (Virginia)|U.S. Route 17]] was moved onto this alignment (from one of the ferries) by 1932, and still uses it today.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vahighways.com/route-log/us017.htm |title=Virginia Highways Project: US 17 |publisher=Vahighways.com |access-date=2011-08-19}}</ref>

As early as 1933, the [[State Highway Commission (Virginia)|State Highway Commission]] (SHC) considered taking over the bridge approaches - but not the bridges themselves - from the corporation.<ref>{{CTB minutes|03-1933-01|page=17}}</ref>

[[State Route 258 (Virginia 1940)|State Route 258]], now part of [[U.S. Route 258 (Virginia)|U.S. Route 258]], was extended over the Benns Church approach and bridge by late 1943 to reach the new [[Mercury Boulevard]].<ref>{{CTB minutes|11-1943-01|page=5}}</ref>

In 1949, the state brought the bridge from the previous owners.

In 1951, [[State Route 32 (Virginia)|State Route 32]] was extended from [[Suffolk, VA|Suffolk]] over the bridge to end in Newport News, completely [[overlap (road)|overlapped]] 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".<ref>{{CTB minutes|02-1951-01|page=19}}</ref>

In 1955, the state doubled tolls to $1.80 round trip for cars (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|1.8|1955|fmt=c|r=2}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) and $4.00 or more for trucks<ref name="Groups driven to save James River toll plaza"/> (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|4|1955|fmt=c|r=2}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars) in order to pay for repairs, new toll booths, and a new [[punched card]] system compatible with the [[Hampton 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 the [[Nansemond River Bridge]]. Thus the [[Crittenden Bridge]] became free for local traffic. In addition, passenger vehicles and [[light truck]]s 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.<ref name=10-1954-02/> Tolls were eventually dropped to 10 cents per axle.

J.W. Luter, Jr. of the local [[Smithfield Packing Company]] rerouted his trucks via a smaller, cheaper bridge owned by a [[Norfolk, VA|Norfolk]] car dealer.<!--NEEDS DETAILS! King Highway Bridge?--><ref name="Groups driven to save James River toll plaza"/>

Tolls were removed on June 3, 1976; the state paid off the remaining bonds at that time. Simultaneously, the parallel [[Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel]] opened, and tolls were removed from that facility, the [[Coleman Bridge]], and the [[Robert O. Norris Bridge]].<ref>{{CTB minutes|05-1976-01|page=28}}</ref> Many considered this an important step in the development of the area.<ref name="VDOT history">{{cite web|url=http://www.virginiadot.org/about/resources/historyofrds.pdf |title=Virginia Department of Transportation History of Roads |access-date=2011-08-19}}</ref>

In 1978, [[Bicycle]]s, [[moped]]s, and [[pedestrian]]s were banned from using the bridge; the easternmost crossing for them is the [[Jamestown Ferry]], about {{convert|25|mi|km}} upstream.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virginiadot.org/programs/bk-info.asp |title=VDOT Info & Service: Bicycling and Walking in Virginia |publisher=Virginiadot.org |access-date=2011-08-19}}</ref> The [[State Highway and Transportation Commission (Virginia)|State 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 of [[sidewalk]]s.<ref>{{CTB minutes|09-1978-01|page=23}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{CTB minutes|03-1983-01|page=21}}</ref>

[[File:James River Bridge.JPG|thumbnail|James River Bridge. Picture taken from Huntington Park Beach.]]
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 {{convert|0.75|mi|km|adj=on}} 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 the [[Newport News, VA|Newport News]] end, traffic approaches the bridge at a six-ramp [[partial cloverleaf]] interchange, where [[Mercury Boulevard]] (carrying [[U.S. Route 17 (Virginia)|U.S. Route 17]], [[U.S. Route 258 (Virginia)|U.S. Route 258]], and [[State Route 32 (Virginia)|State Route 32]] onto the bridge) passes over Warwick Boulevard ([[U.S. Route 60 (Virginia)|U.S. Route 60]]). After an intersection with River Road and the entrance to [[Huntington Park (Newport News)|Huntington Park]], the four-lane [[divided highway|divided]] bridge begins, lying to the southeast a part of the old bridge that remains as a [[fishing pier]]. The {{convert|126.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} [[lift bridge|lift span]] over the shipping channel, with a clearance of {{convert|44.1|m|ft|abbr=on}} when raised and {{convert|18.2|m|ft|abbr=on}} when lowered, is about 1/4 of the way along the {{convert|7.0714|km|mi|abbr=on}} bridge.<ref name=NBI/> This allows ocean-going ships to pass en route to civilian port facilities in [[Hopewell, Virginia|Hopewell]] and at the [[Port of Richmond]].

[[File:Lift span of James River Bridge at sunset (2011).jpg|thumb|left|The current bridge's [[vertical-lift bridge|lift span]] at sunset]]
The roadway becomes Carrollton Boulevard on the [[Isle of Wight County, VA|Isle of Wight County]] end; after a number of intersections, US 258 and SR 32 turn west at [[Bartlett, Virginia|Bartlett]] towards [[State Route 10 (Virginia)|State Route 10]] at [[Benns Church, Virginia|Benns Church]], while US 17 curves southeast towards [[Portsmouth, VA|Portsmouth]].

The nearest upstream crossing of the James River is the [[Jamestown Ferry]] ([[State Route 31 (Virginia)|State Route 31]]); the next fixed crossing is the 1966 [[Benjamin Harrison Bridge]] ([[State Route 156 (Virginia)|State Route 156]]) at [[Hopewell, VA|Hopewell]]. When the bridge opened in 1928, the next bridge upstream was the 1913 [[Mayo Bridge]] in [[Richmond, VA|Richmond]].

Downstream, both crossings of [[Hampton Roads]] are [[bridge-tunnel]]s for military reasons: the 1992 [[Monitor-Merrimac Bridge-Tunnel]] ([[Interstate 664 (Virginia)|Interstate 664]]) and 1957 [[Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel]] ([[Interstate 64 (Virginia)|Interstate 64]]/[[U.S. Route 60 (Virginia)|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 after [[asbestos]] was discovered. [[Historic preservation|Preservationist]]s have argued the building had historic significance.<ref name="Groups driven to save James River toll plaza"/>

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.

==See also==
* {{Portal-inline|Transport}}
* {{Portal-inline|Engineering}}
* {{Portal-inline|Virginia}}
* [[List of crossings of the James River (Virginia)|List of crossings of the James River]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.roadstothefuture.com/US17_JRB.html Roads to the Future: James River Bridge (US-17)]
{{Water Crossings in the Hampton Roads Region}}
{{Crossings navbox
|structure       = Crossings
|place           = [[James River (Virginia)|James River]]
|bridge          = James River Bridge
|bridge signs    = [[Image:US 17.svg|20px]] [[Image:US 258.svg|25px]] [[Image:Virginia 32.svg|20px]]
|upstream        = [[Jamestown Ferry]]
|upstream signs  = [[Image:Virginia 31.svg|20px]]
|downstream      = [[Monitor-Merrimac Bridge-Tunnel]]
|downstream signs = [[Image:I-664.svg|25px]]
}}

[[Category:Vertical lift bridges in Virginia]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1928]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1982]]
[[Category:Former toll bridges in Virginia]]
[[Category:Bridges over the James River (Virginia)]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Isle of Wight County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Newport News, Virginia]]
[[Category:Transportation in Newport News, Virginia]]
[[Category:Demolished bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Transportation in Isle of Wight County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Virginia]]
[[Category:U.S. Route 17]]
[[Category:Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System]]
[[Category:1928 establishments in Virginia]]
[[Category:Steel bridges in the United States]]