If bridges and oceans are among my favorite things, it should be no surprise that I find inspiration in the 17.6 mile long Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. I marvel at the size of the structure and the benefit it provides the region. I recall anchoring nearby in September 2001, onboard a Coast Guard cutter, as our crew boarded and questioned inbound ships - a sentry at sea to our recently shaken land. I enjoy the birds in the wildlife habitats on the natural and manmade islands. But it was when I returned home one day and saw four paintings on my wall that I realized where the inspiration was taking me.
The bridge is officially named the Lucius J. Kellam, Jr. Bridge Tunnel for the founding chair of Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel Commission. The first bridge, or rather bridges, and the two tunnels were constructed over three and a half years from 1960 to 1964 at a cost of $200 million. The second bridge was built in 1995 at a cost of $250 million with both directions reducing to a single lane in order to share the tunnels. This design avoided the cost of second set of tunnels while still providing additional capacity, and the all-important passing lanes, that ensure the trip is fast and convenient.
From a construction standpoint, the bridge is massive, but not necessarily remarkable. It is built simply and sits low to the water except where it rises up in one section, or dives under in the two tunnels, to accommodate ships. Otherwise the bridge is a monotonous series of smaller connected spans that reliably carry drivers across the bay. Still, there was a sense of progression in the drive one day that I could not place until I arrived home. Thomas Cole (1801-1848) painted a four-part series called the Voyage of Life in the Hudson River School style. Each print shows a stage of life: Childhood, Youth, Manhood, and Old Age. Looking at prints of those paintings I had on my wall, I realized my drive earlier in the day was a sort of Voyage of Life on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
Approaching from the North, a curve on Fishermans Island hides the bridge and bay from view until the last second. Then the road launches out over the water on an incline. You may find yourself speeding a little after slowing for the toll, but also because there is still so much ahead of you. Like Childhood, the view is magnificent with distractions in every direction. The entire bridge stretches out to the horizon and the other side is hazy at best - if you are even looking that far.
The incline grows like the excitement of Childhood. The views improve with each turn of the tires and for the first time you can gain perspective on where you have come from. Mirrors reveal the North shore and Fisherman’s Island with tall grasses filling the marsh. The absence of buildings is the infancy of development and probably unappreciated until the sight of sprawling suburbia on the opposite shore comes into view. The incline continues onto the North Channel bridges, whose construction, like teen years, is slightly more complex than the approach section but still pales in comparison to the tunnels or the bridge in its entirety.
The steel truss North Channel Bridges are 3,798 feet long with 75 feet of vertical clearance to accommodate local fishing ships. The North Channel Bridges mark the highest point on the entire crossing and the trying upgrade is now behind you. Perhaps Springsteen’s “Glory Days” is on the radio to remind you of the opportunity in this adolescent Youth. From this elevated vantage you can now see the rest of the crossing in front of you. Sunlight reflects off the cars of people further ahead just as those drivers are probably reflecting on your opportunity to do the crossing well.
The decline from the North Channel Bridges speeds you onto the first set of trestle bridges. The bridge’s 12.2 miles of trestle rest just 30 feet above the water and with eye catching linear precision. 75 foot long pre-cast road sections thud by every 9/10ths of a second if you are going the speed limit. This is highly recommended from my experience, but, like many Youth, you may not listen to advice and will have to learn the hard way. The monotony here may numb you like that first cubical job. You’ll consider how to rush through this stage but to do so would be an injustice. This is a time, free of distractions, to enjoy the view. The endless undulation of the shining sea draws the eye from one windswept whitecap to another. Navy ships and Coast Guard cutters frequently patrol nearby while massive super tankers and cargo vessels head into Norfolk and Baltimore with their goods. Gulls, Pelicans, and Osprey abound if you care to look for them. The bridge itself may even entertain the occasional civil engineer. Regardless of how the time is filled, the trestle sections should not be rushed.
Before you know it the pace slows and the Chesapeake Channel tunnel approaches. One mile long and bookended by 5-acre man-made islands, each tunnel provides 50+ feet of navigable water overhead for deep draft cargo ships and aircraft carriers. To the driver below, the tunnel is a dark and understatedly important part of the crossing. It represents our young heartbreaks, those early family deaths, and that transition from Youth into Manhood. These deep and dark times in our lives seem to drag by. The radio stations, like friends who have been standing by you, fade into static. A painfully slow driver on this single lane section makes you feel stuck. Uniform tiles and florescent lights offer little distraction and the only option is to patiently wait for the actual light at the end of the tunnel to appear.
As the first tunnel ends the road transitions into the second trestle section. The darkness is gone and the radio stations are clear again. The road returns to a familiar monotony that is almost welcome now that it brings you open air and a chance to pass. Once again you are provided the opportunity to take in the view as the trestle sections thud by with designed regularity. Manhood brings just as many temptations to rush and there is still half the crossing to go. As the Thimble Shoal tunnel approaches you may use your experience to pass a few extra cars but, in the end, more darkness is unavoidable.
The Thimble Shoal tunnel is identical to the Chesapeake Channel tunnel. With the dark tunnel experience no longer new, you may be better prepared this time. Perhaps you’ll notice how the lights vary in brightness to help driver’s eyes adjust to the darkness, or you'll spot the specially designed tunnel trucks used to scrub soot from the wall and ceiling tiles. This second period darkness is more bearable, if inevitable. Soon the tunnel heads to the surface again and, if you are lucky, there is not a single a car in front of you. This mid-life mid-bridge moment demands a fast sports car to speed you out of the darkness with renewed vigor. More likely, however, you are in a minivan and will slow to turn toward the on-island visitors center just past the tunnel to allow your children to use the restroom or cast a fishing line into the bay. Time may teach you that this is actually more enjoyable than the sports car.
Following family time you find yourself on the final trestle section and with the end of your crossing finally in view. Nearly the entire bridge is visible behind you out of your driver’s side window. The rhythmic thud under the wheels is now familiar and you may even slow a bit to prolong a drive that you once desired to hasten past. This is the nostalgia of Old Age at its best. You wish you could tell drivers on the North Island Bridges about that speed trap at mile 8 but they’ll have to figure it out themselves. You'll remember the view of your Childhood, the risks in your Youth, the good and the dark times of Adulthood.
Ahead on the South shore, Chesapeake Beach is lined with retirement homes full of windows and porches to enjoy the views. The inevitable march of progress transformed this area that was once full of tall grasses and marsh. Now it full of houses, roads, and industry and there is no going back. The road does not stop here, but the bridge does. Drivers who shared the last 17.6 miles will now take different paths as their Voyage of Life on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel ends. ~
Note: This was one of the first creative essays I wrote and it was for a class at Virginia Tech. Copies of Thomas Cole’s painting were in my living room as I sat down to write a paper about a civil engineering structure. The professor said I was supposed to write a more technical paper about the engineering of the structure, but admitted mine was the only paper that made him want to go visit a structure.
References:
The History Channel’s “Modern Marvel: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel”
http://www.cbbt.com; Accessed 11/1/03 – 11/11/03
http://virginiadot.org/default_myvdot.asp; (broken) Accessed 11/3/03
http://sections.asce.org/virginia/index.html; (broken) Accessed 11/3/03
http://www.spokenamericanenglish.com/bridge.html; (broken) Accessed 11/3/03
http://www.roadstothefuture.com/CBBT.html; (broken) Accessed 11/3/03
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