Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel

Leaving land on CBBT

We made the trip north on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) from Norfolk to what they call the Eastern Shore of Virginia. From shore to shore the CBBT is 17.6 miles and is mostly bridge but there are two one mile long tunnels between man-made islands. The purpose of the tunnels is to allow large ships to pass over the highway rather than building a sufficient bridge for them to pass under. One tunnel is toward the south side of the bay and the other more toward the north to accommodate ocean vessels going in either direction. It was a very neat experience to traverse this engineering feat. Here are a couple of links for you to check it out in more detail if interested.
http://www.cbbt.com/history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_Bay_Bridge-Tunnel

Entering first tunnel

In tunnel

Islands for second tunnel

Taller bridges on north section