Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

It takes about 20 minutes to go across this amazing, historic piece of construction.

You will go across bridges and overpasses, over the water, and under the water when you take the roads into the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in Virginia. It was first completed in 1964 and was called "one of the seven engineering wonders of the modern world" by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The total cost was 200 million dollars. Before the bridge tunnel was built, people would need to drive onto a ferry (50 - 60 cars at a time) to cross with the Chesapeake Bay on the west side and the Atlantic Ocean on the east side.

These tunnels run a mile or so under the bay, allowing ships and boats to travel above them. The tunnels connect to the bridge sections using four manmade islands as large as football fields. Water levels range from 25 to 100 feet. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel had 1 northbound and 1 southbound lane until 1 line going each direction was added in 1999. Construction began in 2017 to build a parallel tunnel to help alleviate traffic which should be completed in 2022. That job will cost 755 million dollars to complete.

The Chesapeake Bay BridgeTunnel is 17.6 miles, and it crosses at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, the Hampton Roads harbor, and nearby mouths of the James and Elizabeth rivers. It costs $18 to go one way between May 15 and September 15. If you come back the same day, it is only $2. The rest of the year, it costs $14 to go one way and $6 to return across the same day.