Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel

The Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel (MMMBT) is the 4.6-mile-long (7.4 km) Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 664 (I-664) in the southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States. It is a four-lane bridge–tunnel composed of bridges, trestles, artificial islands, and tunnels under a portion of the Hampton Roads harbor where the mouths of the James, Nansemond, and Elizabeth rivers come together.

Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel
Southbound side of the tunnel in 2006
Coordinates36°56′27″N 76°24′06″W
Carries I-664
CrossesHampton Roads
LocaleSuffolk to Newport News, Virginia
Maintained byVirginia Department of Transportation
Characteristics
DesignComposite: low-level trestle, double-tube tunnel, artificial islands
Total length4.6 mi (7.4 km)
Clearance above14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
No. of lanes4 total: 2 northbound lanes, 2 southbound lanes
History
OpenedApril 30, 1992 (April 30, 1992)
Location

It connects the independent cities of Newport News on the Virginia Peninsula and Suffolk in South Hampton Roads and is part of the Hampton Roads Beltway, a circumferential Interstate Highway which links the seven largest cities of Hampton Roads.

The MMMBT, completed in 1992, provided a third major vehicle crossing of the Hampton Roads harbor area, supplementing the Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel which carries I-64 between the independent cities of Hampton and Norfolk (1957), and the James River Bridge connecting the independent city of Newport News and Isle of Wight County in the South Hampton Roads region (1928). All three facilities are toll-free.

The MMMBT cost $400 million to build, and it includes a four-lane tunnel that is 4,800 feet (1,500 m) long, two artificial portal islands, and 3.2 miles (5.1 km) of twin trestle.

Battle of Hampton Roads
Map of I-664

The MMMBT is named for the two ironclad warships which engaged in the famous Battle of Hampton Roads on March 8–9, 1862, during the US Civil War. The battle took place between USS Monitor and CSS Virginia. The latter ship had been rebuilt from the wreck of USS Merrimack. The site of the battle was within one mile (1.6 km) of the bridge–tunnel structure named by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a memorial.

See also

References
  • Rand McNally "The Road Atlas", 2005.

36°56′27″N 76°24′06″W

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