Port Orange Causeway

The Port Orange Causeway, commonly called the Port Orange Bridge or the Dunlawton Bridge, spans the Halifax River and Intracoastal Waterway in Port Orange, Volusia County, Florida. The bridge carries approximately 29,000 vehicles per day across four lanes of State Road A1A and Dunlawton Avenue.[1]

Port Orange Causeway
Coordinates29°08′53″N 80°58′32″W
CarriesFour lanes of SR A1A
CrossesHalifax River
Intracoastal Waterway
LocalePort Orange, Florida
Official nameWilliam V. Chappel Jr. Memorial Bridge
Maintained byFlorida Dept. of Transportation
ID number790147
Characteristics
DesignStringer/Multi-beam or Girder
MaterialPrestressed concrete
Total length228.6 meters (750 ft)
Clearance below19.8 meters (65 feet)
History
Construction end1990
Statistics
Daily traffic29,000
TollFree
Location

History
Aerial view of Port Orange Causeway

First bridge

The first bridge at this location was built by the Port Orange Bridge Company (owned by S. H. Gove) in 1906, made of sable palm pilings and pine bridge timbers. In 1918, Gove offered to sell the bridge to Volusia County. The bridge was severely damaged by a hurricane in 1932, and was torn down. Port Orange was without a bridge for many years after the disaster.[2]

Second bridge

A bascule bridge was finally built here as a replacement in 1951. The two-lane drawbridge was paid for with tolls. The bridge connected the two ends of Dunlawton Avenue, from the mainland to the beach peninsula.[3]

Third bridge
When funded in 1987, the 1990 built Port Orange Causeway bridge (bottom photo) over the Halifax River was planned to be similar to the 1983 Granada Bridge (top photo) passing over that same river.

In May 1987, the U.S. federal government agreed to provide $8.16 million of the estimated $12 million cost of building a Port Orange, Florida bridge planned to be similar to the Granada Bridge.[4] After the drawbridge had aged and was expensive to maintain, it was replaced in 1990 by a new four-lane high bridge, which carries State Road A1A over the river. The Florida State Legislature designated the new bridge as the Congressman William V. Chappel Jr. Memorial Bridge.[5]

See also

References
  1. Florida Dept. of Transportation, Florida Bridge Information
  2. History of Volusia County, Florida; by Pleasant Daniel Gold (1927)
  3. Centennial History of Volusia County, Florida (1854-1954); "Bridges"; by Ianthe Bond Hebel (1954)
  4. Truesdell, Al (May 29, 1987). "Bridge Money Elates Port Orange $8 Million from U.S. Fund will Help Replace Dunlawton Causeway". Volusia Sentinel. Orlando Sentinel. p. 1. Retrieved 12 December 2008. A spokesman for U.S. Congressman Bill Chappell, D-Ormond Beach, said the federal government will pay $8.16 million of the estimated $12 million cost of building a 65-foot-high bridge that will be similar to the Granada Bridge in Ormond Beach.
  5. Cardwell, Harold and Priscilla (2000). Images of America: Port Orange. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-0618-4.
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