The Great Bridge Bridge is a double-leaf rolling bascule

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

that carries Battlefield Blvd ( State Route 168 Business) across the

Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following th ...

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, making it the second-most populous city in Virginia, the tenth largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 92nd-most populous city in the ...

. It was constructed in 2004 by the Army Corps of Engineers and operated by the City of Chesapeake. It has a mean daily traffic of 35,000 vehicles. The current bridge cost $46 million. In September 2018 a lightning strike disable the bridge's electronics, requiring manual operation. Normally the bridge opens automatically, on the hour, from 6 am to 7 pm. Vessels can request an opening from 7 pm to 6 am.

Earlier bridges

On December 9, 1775, when the

Battle of Great Bridge The Battle of Great Bridge was fought December 9, 1775, in the area of Great Bridge, Virginia, early in the American Revolutionary War. The refusal by colonial Virginia militia forces led to the departure of Royal Governor Lord Dunmore and any ...

was fought, a bridge spanned the main channel of the Elizabeth River, in the middle of a broad marshy estuary. A raised causeway spanned the rest of the estuary. A new bridge was built at

Great Bridge, Virginia Great Bridge is a community located in the independent city of Chesapeake in the U.S. state of Virginia. Its name is derived from the American Revolutionary War Battle of Great Bridge, which took place on December 9, 1775, and resulted in the ...

, in 1859, after the construction of

Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal The Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal was built by a corporation in 1856–1860 to afford inland navigation between the Chesapeake Bay and the Albemarle Sound. It comprises two canals that are apart, one long between the Elizabeth River and the ...

(which is part of the

). During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

a bridge crossing at Great Bridge was destroyed. A new two-lane

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravit ...

replaced the late 19th century bridge in 1943.

References

{{Coord, 36, 43, 15.1, N, 76, 14, 23.8, W, type:landmark, display=title Road bridges in Virginia Bascule bridges in the United States Bridges completed in 2004 Bridges in Chesapeake, Virginia