Jordan Bridge closure likely to cause longer backups

It's less time that I have to spend with my nagging wife and three young screaming kids. Usually by the time I finally arrive home after sitting in traffic jams daily, their all finished eating dinner already and I get to eat mine in peace and quiet. I pray everyday for a major backup. Heck, I made sure to pick a house in area that is pure hell to commute to and from daily. Makes the marriage stronger!!

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You're comparing apples to oranges here.

1) Gilmerton bridge is a movable bridge. There are mechanical and electrical parts that must be installed.
2) Gilmerton will maintain traffic during construction, so the bridge must be built in stages.
3) There are working utilities on the Gilmerton bridge that must be accomodated to maintain continuous service.
4) Gilmerton price tag is about $100 million less than I35W.

And about <<>
VDOT will have very little to do with the construction of this bridge other than administration and quality assurance - since the construction will go to a low-bid contractor.

For those of you commenting on the GW Highway thought you might also want to know that the section from the Deep Creek drawbridge to I-64 will be even worse next summer when they start to widen it from 2 lanes to 4 and replace the Long Bridge. Just in this part of Chesapeake we have the Jordan Bridge closing, the Gilmerton and Long Bridges being re-built, the High Rise bridge over capacity, the Steel Bridge way over capacity, and the Deep Creek drawbridge needing replacement but no funding. Ya, get used to congestion!

I live in Cradock and work in Chesapeake...I currently take the Jordan and go down 464. With the closure of the Jordan, I will have to go down GWH, turn on Canal, turn on Military and take the Gilmerton. During the construction of the Gilmerton, I will probably have to take GWH down to 64.

So how do you figure we won't have to use GWH?

directing my rebuttal to the city engineers comments about GWH, to wit: "Earl Sorey, Chesapeake's acting city engineer, said he hopes that tunnel and bridge traffic is not as bad as the study projects. He said many of the shipyard's workers live in southern Chesapeake and northeastern North Carolina, so they will be able to get to Portsmouth by way of George Washington Highway." He stated they can get to the NNSY & Portsmouth via the GWH and all I said was that he obviously had never spent any time on that road south of I64 during afternoon "rush" hour. From the Deep Creek drawbridge to the interstate at 5pm takes about 30 min going south & and that is a fact cause I drive it everyday. To just make an offhanded remark suggesting that the drivers to the NNSY won't have a problem by using GWH, is a foolinsh statement so I stand by my accusation. Sorry you don't agree, but spend some time sitting in that traffic on GW and you might begin to understand my point of view.

I don't understand. How can it possibly take 4 years to replace the Gilmerton Bridge? In Minnesota the bridge that collapsed has already been replaced and reopened in about 1 years time. In Mississippi, 2 major artery bridges that were completely destroyed following Hurricane Katrina were replaced in less than 2 years.

We already can't get into or out of downtown Norfolk without encountering traffic jams that take 30-40 minutes to go less than 7 miles and that's on the highway, when there are no accidents. Then factor in all the street level roads leading into and out of Norfolk that are under construction and this area is a locked up parking lot.

Guess I should get a job at VDOT, and get paid to do nothing for 4 years, at least I wouldn't have to leave home.

Just vote for Obama, he will solve the problem.

Your post is pure hyperbole and ignorance. Anyone using GWH to go south has no need to use the Jordan, so what is your point?

I suggest you be more careful in calling someone a fool as it may point that accusation directly at you...

The closure is "LIKELY" to cause longer backups?

what is your point...do the math...that's a little over $3 million in the last 5 years....how much do you think a new bridge would cost...stop whinning and figure out how you're going to get to work.

Chesapeake dropped the ball on this one. I hope come election time, the public will remember the endless traffic jams.

Laugh at this. from the cities own website.

http://www.chesapeake.va.us/thisweek/newsarch/2003/03-06-26-jordan-bridge-toll-increase.shtml

Laugh at this. from the cities own website.

http://www.chesapeake.va.us/thisweek/newsarch/2003/03-06-26-jordan-bridge-toll-increase.shtml

Good Comment Bruce Bass. Proper planning years ago with additional toll increases could have been escrowed for repairs and possible replacement. This is a structure that has always been tolled therefore is somewhat different that other projects throughout the area. Say what you want and make all the excuses you want over taxes, city councils, etc. To me, and that is the key words "to me" I feel the city dropped the ball this one. Since it only affects 7 to 8 thousand people that cross it daily, who really cares? I guarantee you that if a majority of the Chesapeake City council had to cross that bridge daily, the outcome would have been different.

In the preceding comments, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth is vital to defense of this country by way of maintain our naval fleet.
Workers used the Jordan Bridge to get to work. If our Senators and Delegates are supportive for the work the yard performs. They should approach Congress in D.C. to appropriate Federal funds for repairs or replacement of the bridge. If the U.S. government can bail-out the high-rollers of Wall Street. They should be about to build a bridge, so workers can get to the Naval Shiyard and earn a living.
It's time to E-mail your representatives in D.C.!

He says that he doesn't believe the traffic will be as bad as everyone thinks. He states that the majority of shipyard workers come from southern Ches & NC. Bet THEY would be surprised to hear that! He said these shipyard workers can avoid the increased traffic by using George Washington!! It is obvious he has never traveled GW highway in the morning after 6:30 or sat in traffic in the afternoon for 30 min just trying to get from the Deep Creek exit off I-64 down to the Deep Creek drawbrdge. It is already so backed up it takes me longer to go from the highway to the drawbridge than it does to get from the Naval base, across the High Rise & to the US 17 exit at GW. Throw in the school zone restriction & the crossing guards for Deep Creek High School & the traffic actually backs up onto 64. Serious safety issue!! Sorley is so far out of touch it isn't funny. Chesapeake has stuck their head in the sand for so long, it will be a miracle if they ever figure this one out & guess who gets to pay the price for it in time & money?

Let's put those people who voted against obtaining the money to replace the Jordan Bridge to directing traffic around the problem - and keep them at it until a replacement is funded and built. With all the added traffic on the Gilmerton and the Downtown Tunnel, they'll be falling apart next.

when I read the comments about the tolls and where were they spent....do the math...that toll probably barely covered expenses...come people the city was given that bridge along with all of its problems,....there is no way that the tolls taken since then would ever cover the types of repairs that would be need to maintain a bridge that old....the city did the right thing by closing it....the Pilot needs to serve the community by tring to help resolve the potential traffic issues, not keep fanning the flames of discontent by writing such articles....1 thing that may help would be for major employers on both sides stagger their start times

Perhaps residents who have lived here a few years will remember when the Chesapeake City Council gleefully cut the real estate tax rate. Of course, that helps at election time, but the consequences of deferred maintenance and the failure to invest in infrastructure have severe consequences. Chesapeake had additional revenues because of the fiscal dividend that comes from growth; however, the council could have used that divident to invest in needed infrastructure and repair of existing bridges, roadways, and schools, or they could have granted a tax decrease. Well, we know what they did, but the consequences of that action are only now apparent. Of course, now many will claim that growth does not pay for itself. It certainly does not if the Council takes that revenue and reduces taxes.

According to the article, aprox. 7000 vehicles a day use the bridge. At .75 cents per vehicle the total for a 5 day work week comes to $26,250.00 or $105,000.00 a month and $1,260,000.00 in a year, and that's again based on a 5 day work week. WHERE DID THIS MONEY GO?

It's always a great feeling when you find something special. What a find/treasure that item is. I traveled this bridge for years and paid that small toll not only to save me from the tunnels, but because this structure made me feel like I was part of a well kept secret. After the actual status of the bridges structure was made public I was left wondering why anyone would travel a bridge when it is considered unsafe. (find another route) The truth for me and many is that we don't want the great things of Hampton Roads to come to an end, the pieces that make this place special. When you take one great thread out the blanket it eventually falls apart. This bridge served Hampton Roads for decades and now time is up. Lets hope we can keep the rest of our bridges/tunnels up to code, so we don't loose another wonderful structure that gives us a hidden treasure or even connects us to our neighbors.

How many times has this bridge been shut down for repair/maintenance over the past ten years? I'm glad my tax dollars are no longer going to be thrown into repairing a bridge that cannot be fixed without replacement that I never use!

Nothing lasts forever. Maintenance and repair have been made over the years, but the bridge is old, things wear out even with proper maintenance.

Stop with the toll money "conspiracy theories." The tolls [as reported] barely covered the salaries of the bridge's employees and routine maintenance of the bridge, annually. An additional $3 million would be needed to repair the bridge for the short term (see my first paragraph).

MSMoulton, I'm not informed enough to comment where the toll money was used. The city should put this issue to rest and state where & what the money was used for. Your question of how do the taxpayers know if the money would be returned to Hampton Roads? Well, unless you have access to a full accounting of the Commonwealth's check book, I guess one would have to trust that the state is operating correctly. Again, just to re-state the fact that the transportation referendum for Hampton Roads was voted down by a 2 to 1 margin in 2002. I believe that little additional tax would have gone a long way to solving Hampton Roads traffic issues.

What happen to the toll money collected??..Was it not for maintenance and improvements??Kind of makes one wonder what the new toll road in Chesapeake 168 will look like in 10 years.Someone needs to be held accountable for the tolls collected and explain just what happen to them

DIDO to the previous comment. The money has been grossly mismanaged and all they want to do is impose their will of mass transit to the masses!

I feel , that there is nothing more to write concerning the closing of the Jordan Bridge. On November 8 at 8 a.m. get your digital cameras and camcorders and record the last vehicle crossing the bridge. This will be your first phot-op to record for history. The next event will come when the City of Chesapeake leaders demolish the draw span of the Jordan withe a large explosion. What a photo-op the Chesapeake City officials finally get rid of an old bridge to make way for another park in Chesapeake. On the Portsmouth side a "DEAD END!" Just like their city government.

The Jordan Bridge is an example of "take the money and run" mentality. The blame lies entirely with the City of Chesapeake. Placing a toll on a structure, employing it's workers, performing needed upgrades, regular maintenance, and planning a replacement are all part of a comprehensive tolling operation. Since the users of this bridge are already used to a toll, build a new bridge and tie it in with I-464 and I-264 in Portsmouth. Better yet, team up with VDOT and tie this new bridge and interstate tie-in with the planned connection of I-264 in Portsmouth to VA-164 to tie in with the Midtown Tunnel and I-664. If this were done, Outer Banks bound traffic could be funneled from I-664 to I-464 to VA-168 thus avoiding Bowers Hill and The High Rise Bridge altogether. The funding for this bridge could be included into the existing Chesapeake Expressway tolling operation. I grew up and graduated in Cheaspeake and I'm sure the citizens of Chesapeake and the region deserve better! The time for action is now!

Clearly the toll money from the Jordan Bridge has been wasted elsewhere, why should we believe the sales tax money would have been treated any better?

We've been seeing this coming for years, yet another example of our neglected, failing infrastructure and the shortsightedness of our political leadership and the community they are supposed to lead. Too bad it always takes a crisis to get anything done down here.

We could have been spreading the pain by paying a few cents on the dollar all along, but now we will be paying for years by fuming in line at the gridlocked tunnels.

Why not remove the bridge and replace it with a ferry service from the existing roadway across to the other existing roadway. Many other cities and states have them.