Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

I know I haven't written in a while. Life is insane these days. Too much going on. But I'm back and I have to share this experience of going over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. It is one of the most amazing things I have seen. And I was driving the car. I have driven over the 7 mile bridge going from the edge of Florida towards Key West and that was pretty amazing. But the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is astounding. It is 20 miles long. I don't think I can do it justice by explaining, so I am obtaining some data from the website.

For over 44 years, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel has captured worldwide attention as a modern engineering wonder and an important East Coast travel convenience. Crossing over and under open waters where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean, the Bridge-Tunnel provides a direct link between Southeastern Virginia and the Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware plus the Eastern Shore counties in Maryland and Virginia), and cuts 95 miles from the journey between Virginia Beach and points north of Wilmington, Delaware.
Following its opening on April 15, 1964, the Bridge-Tunnel was selected "One of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World" in a worldwide competition that included more than one hundred major projects. In addition, in 1965, it was distinguished as "The Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement" by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
To date, over 100 million commercial and passenger vehicles have crossed the Bridge-Tunnel. In order to meet future traffic demands and provide for a safer crossing, construction of a parallel crossing project began in summer 1995, and opened to four-lane traffic on April 19, 1999. No less challenging than construction of the original span, this project once again drew focus to a remarkable achievement in engineering and construction.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel spans the Chesapeake Bay between Cape Henry and Cape Charles. It is the largest bridge-tunnel complex in the world. Measuring 17.6 miles from shore to shore, the Bridge-Tunnel consists of of more than 12 miles of trestled roadway, two mile-long tunnels, two bridges, four man-made islands, almost two miles of causeway, and 5 ½ miles of approach roads, totaling 23 miles. The Bridge-Tunnel's concrete supporting columns are called pilings. There are 100 miles of pilings, 5189 in all. If placed end-to-end, the pilings alone would reach from New York to Philadelphia.

Now back to my story:

The picture above shows you the sections were ships and I'm talking big ships go through. It is mind boggling. The picture below is a satellite photo of the bridge. If you study the picture you will see the breaks in the bridge. That is where you go underwater into the tunnels.

It is a bit unnerving to be on a stretch of bridge and all around all you see is water for miles. Then you go down into this tunnel. And there are signs all over for you to maintain your speed - 50 mph. Then my husband mentions he wants to stop at the gift shop. What you don't know is that at exactly the end of the 2nd tunnel, going at 50 mph, you have to make a sharp U-turn to go onto the side road towards the gift shop. Talk about burning rubber with the Highlander. My heart was pounding. So we stopped at the gift shop and immediately I looked for post cards. I couldn't take pictures while driving, so this made up for it. My husband had also mentioned a pier. Now I am not a big fan of heights and this pier is very high. And it was a very windy day. There were a lot of people fishing.

Notes about fishing at the pier from the website: Striped bass entering or exiting the Bay must pass through the Bridge-Tunnel complex, and past its' islands and pilings. Barnacles, shellfish, and various crustaceans make the rocks around the islands their home. They attract baitfish, and the baitfish attract stripers. Cast up near the rocky shores of the islands in the early mornings, and catch the stripers feeding on the baitfish.
The stripers use the pilings to hide behind, and ambush baitfish being swept past the pilings by the tidal currents. Fishing is usually best around the pilings on the outgoing tide.
Besides striped bass, more than 20 other species of fish are caught around the Bridge-Tunnel.
It is said that fishing at the Bridge-Tunnel varies between good, better, and fantastic!

We didn't do any eating at the pier because we had to get to Virginia Beach to hook up with my girl Glenda.