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6 unusual facts about James River Bridge


Bower's Hill, Virginia

An additional crossing of Hampton Roads, to supplement the James River Bridge and the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel was a long-sought highway improvement in the area.

Carrollton, Virginia

Carrollton is located near the southern end of the James River Bridge, across from Newport News, VA.

The Route 17 James River Bridge carries in excess of 30,000 vehicles per day through Carrollton.

Harry E. Atkinson

Also completed during Atkinson's term was the first span of the four-lane James River Bridge that would eventually replace the original two-lane bridge.

James River Bridge

J.W. Luter, Jr. of the local Smithfield Packing Company rerouted his trucks via a smaller, cheaper bridge owned by a Norfolk car dealer.

The $5.2 million James River Bridge was opened on November 17, 1928, by the press of a button in Washington, D.C., where U.S. President Calvin Coolidge, sitting in the Oval Office of the White House, sent an electric signal to lower into place the upraised lift span over the James River channel.


What-A-Burger

U.S. Route 258, later known as Mercury Boulevard in honor of the astronauts of Project Mercury at NASA's center at nearby Langley Air Force Base, led from Fort Monroe to the James River Bridge and has been a major traffic artery in the area for many years.


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