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Spanning the Chesapeake Bay: for 40 Years the World's Largest Bridge

Spanning the Chesapeake Bay: for 40 Years the World's Largest Bridge

Region Focus Summer 04.ps - 7/12/2004 3:52 PM

SPANNING THE

For 40 years, the world’s largest - has connected the mainland to the

BY CHARLES GERENA COURTESY OF THE BRIDGE–TUNNEL

efore the first cars crossed the counties of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The bridge-tunnel’s anniversary this -Tunnel They heralded the 17.6-mile system of past April was observed with less Bon April 15, 1964, the governor trestles, steel , and hoopla than its momentous debut as of Virginia and other leaders touted the mile-long as a faster, more reli- one of the seven wonders significance of connecting Virginia able transportation link for the growing of the world. A restaurant on one of Beach, Norfolk, and other cities in the number of motorists and truckers the bridge-tunnel’s man-made islands Hampton region to the two rural wanting to cross the bay. served free cake, toll takers passed out

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commemorative bookmarks, and one the volume on US-13. This four- chief financial officer at Farmers & lucky set of travelers received a gift passes through and Merchants Bank-Eastern Shore in basket. After 40 years, the bridge- Wilmington, Del., and snakes down the Onley, Va. (Exmore is near the mid- tunnel has become part of the back- center of the Delmarva Peninsula for point of the Eastern Shore, with Acco- drop of and the over 200 miles until it reaches the mack County above and Northampton Eastern Shore, playing a different eco- CBBT. More people are choosing this County below.) “A lot of people head nomic role in each region. route into and out of Hampton Roads south for entertainment, health care, over the busy interstates. and shopping.” The Missing Link The region’s trucking companies The 51,400 people living in Acco- Before was substantially often serve customers in the North- mack and Northampton aren’t suffi- completed through Virginia in 1964, east, so they have plenty of big rigs cient to interest mass retailers like drivers traveling between traveling west on I-64 and north on I- Kmart, which closed its store in and Florida often hugged the coastline. 95, and vice versa. But the interstates Exmore last year. Only smaller - But to cross the southern section of can be frustrating, notes Whaley. “Lots ers and supermarkets operate in these the Chesapeake Bay, they had to hitch of trucks don’t want to have to go counties, and mostly along US-13 to a ride on one of the steamer ships or through Washington, D.C., if they are take advantage of the flow. private that ran between coming from the north. I-95 is hectic The CBBT also enables Hampton Hampton Roads and the southern tip and I-64 is hectic. Then, you have to of the Eastern Shore. go through the Hampton Roads When the Railroad Bridge-Tunnel, which in the summer- Busy Across the Bay stopped running steamers, ferries time becomes pretty jammed up. I’m The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel has seen steady couldn’t keep up with the growing told that many truckers will get on US- growth in automobile and truck traffic in the last demand from interstate travelers and 13 north of D.C. and have pretty clear 20 years. Changes in the toll seemed to have little locals. James Brookshire Jr., executive sailing all the way to Hampton Roads.” effect on demand. director of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge By using US-13 and the CBBT, and Tunnel District, says it took 90 truckers shave 95 miles off their trip minutes to make the trip by boat, plus between Wilmington and Hampton Traffic by Fiscal Year, Passenger Cars time to load and unload passengers and Roads. This reduces fuel consumption, and Light Trucks, 1984-2003 . The crossing was “the which is especially important given 3000 one bottleneck” along the East Coast today’s high gasoline costs. Toll Increase October 1991 that needed help. The alternative route also saves fuel 2750 Virginia legislators created a private because it provides stretches of smooth 2500 commission in 1954 to take over the driving with relatively few starts and ferry service and deal with the bottle- stops. Drivers pass through only two 2250 HOUSANDS neck, then decided two years later that towns of any size – Dover, Del., and T Round-Trip Commuter 2000 a fixed crossing was the long-term solu- Salisbury, Md. – enabling trucks to Discount Created March 2002 tion. After a study found such a cross- travel 55 miles per hour for most of 1750 ing to be financially feasible, the their journey. Pat Patterson, a person-

1500 I commission sold $200 million in nel manager at Givens Transportation FY ’84 FY ’86 FY ’88 FY ’90 FY ’92 FY ’94 FY ’96 FY ’98 FY ’00 FY ’02FY ’03 revenue bonds in 1960 to finance the in Chesapeake, Va., says this is the of the Chesapeake Bay optimal speed for fuel efficiency, but Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT). drivers have a hard time maintaining it Traffic by Fiscal Year, Heavy Trucks Today, the CBBTcontinues to facil- on i-64 and i-95. “If you’re not running and Recreational Vehicles, 1984-2003 itate interstate traffic, supporting three 70 miles an hour you have to get out 400 important industries in the Hampton of somebody’s way,” he complains. Roads area. “We need to get trucks to Tourists also turn to US-13 and the 350 our , we need to get our tourists CBBT to save time, and to take a break in and out during the summer months, from the lack of interstate scenery. and we need to get inputs and outputs Hampton Roads residents travel the 300 HOUSANDS T to and from our factories,” describes route to head north, while Canadians Toll Increase John Whaley, deputy executive direc- and travelers from Northeast cities use 250 October 1991 tor of economics at the Hampton it to head south. Roads Planning District Commission. In addition to facilitating interstate 200 I Though the CBBT handles fewer travel, the CBBT connects Virginia’s FY ’84 FY ’86 FY ’88 FY ’90 FY ’92 FY ’94 FY ’96 FY ’98 FY ’00 FY ’02FY ’03 vehicles compared to Hampton Roads’ Eastern Shore to the mainland. “It’s our other entry points (see ), its traffic lifeline to Hampton Roads if you live SOURCE: Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Commission volume continues to grow along with from Exmore south,” says Julie Badger,

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Roads businesses to provide goods and tributed to a growing number of dicted some acceleration in household services needed in both counties. For tourists visiting Virginia Beach and growth and a subsequent increase in example, residents have seen con- other parts of the Hampton Roads traffic in areas closest to the bridge- struction crews making the round-trip area, and the bridge-tunnel has enabled tunnel if the round-trip toll was across the bridge-tunnel daily to work them to discover the joys of the lowered from $20 to $14. on residential projects throughout the Eastern Shore simultaneously. In addi- “A reduction in the cost of travel Eastern Shore. “Anybody who wants to tion, Hampton Roads residents cross through a toll discount gives the south- get a house built has to go outside of the bridge-tunnel to escape city life. ernmost portions of Northampton the area because [the locals] are saying To stimulate non- economic County a comparable commute cost it will be two years before they can get growth in Virginia’s Eastern Shore, profile to other outlying areas of the to you,” notes John Ordeman, a retired efforts began several years ago to [Hampton Roads] metropolitan teacher who belongs to a community reduce the $10 toll for motorists cross- region,” noted the study’s authors. group called Citizens for a Better ing the CBBT. Advocates argued that “This, combined with other features of Eastern Shore (CBES). the toll was a barrier to economic the area, may make it more attractive development. A 2001 study commis- to residential development aimed at The Road to Economic Growth? sioned by the Accomack-Northampton the commuter market.” Although the Chesapeake Bay Bridge- Planning District Commission pre- But some residents opposed a toll Tunnel facilitates the flow of people and goods, it hasn’t provided the amount of economic stimulus that Scenic Shortcut major roadways usually bring to rural Tourists and truckers traveling between Hampton Roads and Wilmington, Del., save 95 miles areas. “When the bridge-tunnel by taking the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and US-13 instead of the busy interstates. opened, it was expected to have a great economic impact on the Eastern Shore. Wilmington That didn’t happen for quite a long time,” says Denard Spady, executive 95 director of CBES. Spady blames the early completion Dover of I-95 in 1964 and delays in upgrading • US-13 for dampening traffic flow across 13 the CBBT in its early years. Even when the number of people and goods started growing, eventually requiring the construction of a parallel set of Washington C trestles and bridges in 1999, it didn’t H • Salisbury E always translate into new homes and S A 13 businesses on the Eastern Shore. P E While the region has a good trans- A K E Accomack portation and is rich in 95 B County natural resources, it lacks other factors A Y necessary to support economic activ- • Exmore ity. These include a sufficient amount of skilled labor, developable land, and Northhampton County water and sewer lines. 64 One on the Eastern Shore Richmond that has been able to leverage the CHESAPEAKE BAY CBBT is tourism. More than 900,000 BRIDGE-TUNNEL vehicles passed through the bridge- VIRGINIA tunnel’s tollgates during the peak HAMPTON ROADS* summer months of July and August last year, a 36 percent increase from the same period in 1990. The Travel Industry Association of America has said that more Americans *The Hampton Roads region includes the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg; and the counties of Gloucester, Isle of are taking driving vacations, staying Wight, James City, Southampton, Surry, and York. close to home, and visiting rural desti- SOURCES: Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and Hampton Roads Planning District Commission nations. All three trends have con-

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reduction because it would undercut 1990, only 3.4 percent of the Eastern the financing of future projects, such Shore’s households made $75,000 and Major Arteries as the construction of additional more. Ten years later, that percentage Among the thoroughfares carrying traffic in and out tunnels to connect to the CBBT’s tripled to 10.2 percent of households. of Hampton Roads, Va., the Chesapeake Bay Bridge- second set of bridges and trestles. Would a change in the price of Tunnel accounts for a relatively small share of the Others feared that development would passage across the CBBT affect the region’s traffic volume. accelerate and change the rural nature flow of commercial vehicles? The tolls Est. Vehicles Per of the Eastern Shore. for trucks are more than double the Facility (No. of ) Day (min.-max.) motorist toll, but their bottom-line Tinkering with the impact is small. “If you are a trucker Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (4) 10,000–20,000 Price of Passage bringing in $50,000 worth of , the Chesapeake Expressway (4) 10,000–30,000 In March 2002, the commissioners cost of the toll is not really significant,” who oversee the CBBT sided with says economist John Whaley of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (4) 80,000– 100,000 growth advocates. They voted to Hampton Roads Planning District US-460 (4-6) 40,000 –85,000 reduce the round-trip toll from $20 to Commission. $14 for travelers completing the The toll isn’t a big factor for many Max. capacity for typical 2-lane facility 20,000–25,000 journey within 24 hours. Eastern Shore businesses either Max. capacity for typical 4-lane facility 75,000– 80,000 In two years, the toll change didn’t because they don’t have to use the SOURCE: Hampton Roads Planning District Commission seem to have a big impact. Residents CBBT. For example, Ed Tankard has say they have seen an acceleration of seven to eight trucks carrying plants real estate speculation and residential from his family-owned nursery in operating costs and to pay off con- construction as developers play up the Exmore to customers every day. None struction bonds. cheaper cost of crossing the CBBT, but of them head south. Instead, they head In fact, the commission decided to some of this activity was probably north to markets like Philadelphia, boost the price of passage in June 2004 taking place before the toll change. New York, and Boston. While busi- to help finance the new tunnels. The Studies commissioned by the Vir- nesses on the Eastern Shore serve some one-way toll for motorists rose two ginia Department of Transportation customers to the south, Tankard says dollars to $12, while the round-trip toll (VDOT) and the CBBT Commission that most of their demand has histor- increased three dollars to $17. Also, in 2000 concluded that the bridge- ically been from the north. five-axle tractor trailers and commer- tunnel’s traffic flow would not change Apoultry processing facility operated cial buses have to pay $5 more. significantly in the short term by by Perdue Farms, the Eastern Shore’s Officials say the new capacity will be cutting the toll a few dollars. In other largest employer, reportedly uses the necessary to handle traffic growth pro- words, the demand for the bridge- CBBT to access the in Hampton jected for the next 40 years. Since the tunnel appeared to be relatively “price Roads. However, other poultry firms in toll increases probably won’t slow this inelastic” for several reasons (see the the region don’t produce a majority of growth, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge- Jargon Alert column on p. 6 for a dis- their chicken for export. “Most of our Tunnel will likely continue to support cussion of this term). finished product goes north through economic activity in the Eastern Shore, First of all, most residents need to Delaware or west … to Annapolis,” says Hampton Roads, and beyond. RF cross the bridge-tunnel only occasion- Bill Satterfield, executive director of the ally. They tend to do most of their busi- Delmarva Poultry Industry Inc., a ness locally and a growing number of regional trade group. R EADINGS them are retirees, either the 65-and- Data from a VDOT study of the Hill, Robert W. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel: older crowd who no longer have a daily US-13 corridor supports this anecdotal The Eighth Wonder of the World. New York: John commute or younger people who run evidence. Average daily volume on US- Day Co., 1972. a business locally or from home. 13 is higher at points north of the mid- Michael Baker, Jr. Inc. Potential Land Use Impacts of Many people, in fact, live on Vir- point of the Eastern Shore compared a Commuter Toll Reduction on the Chesapeake Bay ginia’s Eastern Shore because of its rel- to points south of the midpoint, includ- Bridge-Tunnel. Virginia Department of ative isolation. “When people move to ing the bridge-tunnel. Transportation, June 2000. the Eastern Shore, it’s a lifestyle deci- In the final analysis, it would prob- The Louis Berger Group Inc. Chesapeake Bay sion,” says Julie Badger at Farmers & ably take a drastic reduction of the Bridge-Tunnel Commuter Toll Impact Study. Merchants Bank. “If you … want a Star- CBBT toll or its elimination to dra- Accomack-Northampton Planning District bucks, a multiplex, chain restaurants, matically affect traffic patterns or res- Commission, October 2001. and a mall, none of that is here. That idential development in southeastern Wilbur Smith Associates. Chesapeake Bay Bridge- kind of person won’t move here.” Virginia. The likelihood of that hap- Tunnel Traffic Evaluation Study. Chesapeake Bay Second, more residents earn high pening is slim, however. The bridge- Bridge-Tunnel Commission, April 2000. incomes, and the cost of the bridge- tunnel depends mostly on toll revenue Visit www.rich.frb.org/pubs/regionfocus for tunnel toll isn’t significant to them. In to cover its annual maintenance and links to relevant sites.

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