Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge

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The Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that spans the James River between Jordan's Point in Prince George County and Charles City County near Hopewell, Virginia. It carries vehicle traffic of State Route 156 and is owned by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).

Contents

[edit] History

The mile-long drawbridge replaced ferry service when it was completed in 1966 by Hardesty & Hanover L.L.P., a New York-based bridge engineering firm. It featured a 360-ft long vertical lift span to facilitate passage of shipping traffic on this portion of the James River, which is navigable from Hampton Roads upstream to the Port of Richmond, about 23 miles west of the bridge.

[edit] Disaster in 1977

[edit] Tanker ship crashes into bridge

On February 24, 1977, the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge was the scene of a spectacular and costly accident. An ocean-going tanker ship, the 5,700 ton, 523-ft long S.S. Marine Floridian, was eastbound, heading downriver from Richmond. As the ship rounded a bend in the channel of the James River at the confluence of the Appomattox River near City Point and began the approach to the Benjamin Harrison Bridge, the steering gear malfunctioned, and the pilot lost control of the ship.

The bridge tender had placed the lift span in the "raised" position in anticipation of the ship's passage, and motorists were sitting in their vehicles behind the warning gates waiting. As the large ship veered off course to the north, the occupants of southbound vehicles waiting on the bridge saw the ship coming directly toward them, and managed to get out of their cars and run to safety before the ship rammed the bridge. [1]

The ship missed the open portion and struck part of the fixed span. Four unoccupied vehicles tumbled into the river, and part of the bridge structure collapsed onto the deck of ship, which was wedged under the wreckage of the bridge. The bridge tender, a state employee, was trapped in the control booth located on the raised lift span near the south end. Despite the massive damage, there were no serious injuries.

[edit] Post-collision actions

Representatives of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the United States Coast Guard, and Virginia Governor's Office of Emergency Services responded to the scene. Engineering and bus transportation contractors were summonsed to assist with repairs to the bridge and to provide alternate transportation for displaced motorists.

According to official state records, the damage to the bridge entailed the "destruction of two spans north of the lift span, the north tower, the lift span, and serious damage to the south tower." and "elimination of both highway and river traffic with immediate serious effect upon highway users and industries relying upon supplies by water" [2]

[edit] Special arrangements to help displaced commuters

While river traffic was restored in relatively short order, the loss of the bridge as a highway artery caused substantial hardship to commuters and the communities on both sides of the river beginning immediately after the collision. Prior to completion of the bridge in 1966, an automobile-carrying passenger ferry service had operated, but the docks had rotted and silt had filled in the areas where the large ferries, if restored, would need to dock. Due to a dredging restriction in place because of Kepone contamination, it was not feasible to restore the automobile-carrying ferry service which the bridge had replaced in 1966.

Alternative driving routes were unacceptably lengthy. The only fixed crossing downstream was the James River Bridge, which would require an additional 130 mile drive. The nearest highway bridge upstream was located on Interstate 95 at Richmond, necessitating an additional driving distance of over 50 miles. The existing Jamestown Ferry service about 35 miles downstream between Scotland in Surry County and Glass House Point in James City County was already operating at capacity, with delays during peak commuting hours.

State officials called upon local bus and taxi providers to offer potential solutions. Officials of the Governors Office of Emergency Services selected services of Virginia Overland Transportation (VOTC) of Richmond, one of the state's older urban-suburban bus lines, to implement within 3 business days a shuttle bus and van system to coordinate schedules with a passenger ferry system contracted by VDOT from another company which could utilize the old ferry landings without dredging operations. Service essentially operated from dawn to dusk, with schedules adjusted to suit commuters as much as possible.

Radio-equipped vans and school buses based on each side of the river were coordinated with the passenger ferries. Expanded parking was provided by VDOT at both docks. During this operation, commuters would drive to the ferry dock area on the side of their residence and literally "Park, Ride, and Ride."

The van and bus service on the south shore ran between the dock at Jordan Point and various schools and places of employment, including many businesses in Prince George County, Hopewell and notably Fort Lee. In the opposite situation, some workers who lived on the south side parked and rode the ferry, and vans or buses transported them to employment, mostly at Charles City County agencies. By acting quickly, major disruptions to commuters and employers was primarily limited the initial few days. Since the state (and ultimately the ship's insurers) bore the expense of the passenger ferries and shuttle services, some commuters found budget savings in their commuting expenses as a meaningful offset to any inconvenience.

A light-duty car-float was later introduced and operated during favorable weather conditions to supplement the passenger ferry and shuttle van arrangements. However, this affair was considered somewhat unstable by some commuters, and the Park, Ride, and Ride operation continued for 20 months until the bridge was reopened.

The reconstruction of the damaged bridge was to cost millions of dollars and take 20 months to complete. One design change incorporated was relocation of the bridge tender's station to a fixed portion of the structure which did not go up and down with the lift span.

[edit] Fault, liability for damages

The NTSB issued a report, MAR-78-01, which was adopted on January 1, 1978. The investigation made recommendations for future prevention. The State of Virginia filed suit in U.S. District Court against the shipping company operating the Marine Floridian, which was found to be liable for the damages, a decision affirmed by the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The rebuilt Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge was reopened to traffic in the fall of 1978. The total cost of damages from the accident was $9.7 million. [3]

[edit] Peregrine falcons program

Eastern Virginia has long been a habitat for endangered birds, notably eagles and peregrine falcons. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has come to learn that some of its high bridge structures closely match their preferred nesting environment on cliff faces and in high trees.

In an award-winning program, nesting boxes for these rare birds were established in several bridges, including the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge. Bridge pairs now represent approximately 30 percent of the Virginia peregrine falcon population. In a major victory for the endangered species, and VDOT's environmental efforts, in the spring of 2003, nearly a dozen peregrine falcon chicks were hatched. Most were taken from their nesting boxes on various VDOT bridges for banding and release.

That spring, three chicks or "eyases" on the Benjamin Harris Bridge on Route 156 over the James River were banded with a transmitter for tracking purposes, and two were released at Shenandoah National Park. Environmentalists like to leave one chick with its parents when possible, but the birds have a better chance of staying alive when released in the wild. One concern is that a falcon learning to fly may not survive a fall onto a bridge or even the water below.

VDOT employees who work on the bridge can see the nesting box on top of the tower from where they work. They can see into the nest when they go up into the tower to work on the mechanisms used to open the drawbridge. The drawbridge is opened on demand sometimes three or four times a day, but some days not at all. The openings do not disturb the peregrine falcons. Bridge employees keep the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary informed of the birds' movements.

Peregrine falcons were listed as federally endangered in 1970 under the Endangered Species Conservation Act. At that time, there were virtually none in the east, and the population in the rest of the country had fallen by 80 to 90 percent. Beginning in the 1970's, a national effort was undertaken to recover breeding populations and to restore the species. Their population has significantly recovered over the past 30 years, thanks to conservation efforts such as VDOT's. Today, more than 1,500 breeding pairs have been counted in the U.S. and Canada.

Along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Conservation Center, VDOT monitors the falcons on each bridge to ensure they and their habitat are doing well. VDOT has even established falcon-specific contract requirements for the Structure and Bridge Division as it continues to identify other nesting sites.

Through placement of nesting boxes on 10 bridges maintained by VDOT, the endangered peregrine falcons -- considered the world's fastest birds -- once again fly high over Virginia's eastern seaboard. Because of the significant role it played in the recovery of the peregrine falcon in Virginia, VDOT earned the 1998 Federal Highway Administration Excellence Award in the category of Environment Protection and Enhancements.

[edit] External links

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