James River Bridge
The James River Bridge (JRB) is a four-lane divided highway lift bridge across the James River in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Owned and operated by the Virginia Department of Transportation, it carries U.S. Route 17 (US 17), US 258, and State Route 32 across the river near its mouth at Hampton Roads. The bridge connects Newport News on the Virginia Peninsula with Isle of Wight County in the South Hampton Roads region, and is the easternmost such crossing without a tunnel component.
James River Bridge | |
|---|---|
The 1928 bridge, replaced from 1975 to 1982 | |
| Coordinates | 36.9910°N 76.4836°W |
| Carries | 4 lanes of US 17 / US 258 / SR 32 |
| Crosses | James River |
| Locale | Isle of Wight County, VA to Newport News, VA |
| Maintained by | Virginia DOT |
| ID number | 10364 |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | steel lift bridge |
| Total length | 7,071.4 m (23,200 ft) |
| Width | 20.8 m (68 ft) |
| Longest span | 126.5 m (415 ft) |
| Clearance above | 4.87 m (16.0 ft) |
| Clearance below | 44.1 m (145 ft) open 18.2 m (60 ft) closed |
| History | |
| Opened | 1982 |
| Location | |
When completed in 1928, the 4.39-mile (7.07 km) bridge was the longest bridge in the world over water. 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.