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Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
A 17-mile crossing of bridges and undersea tunnels
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel carries U.S. Route 13 some 17.6 miles across the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, linking Virginia Beach with the Delmarva Peninsula's Eastern Shore. A chain of low trestle bridges dips twice into mile-long tunnels beneath the shipping channels, so that Navy ships and ocean freighters can pass overhead while traffic flows below.
Opened in 1964 across open, storm-exposed water, it was hailed as an engineering marvel and remains one of the longest bridge-tunnel complexes in the world. The artificial islands built to anchor the tunnel portals are popular spots for fishing and birdwatching far out in the bay.