Dive Brief:
- Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced last week that the new 17.6-mile, two-lane tunnel planned for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge has secured the necessary $756 million in financing, according to WAVY.
- The Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission (CBBT) will fund tunnel construction with a $338.5 million federal bond through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Program, a $50 million state bond in association with the Virginia Transportation Infrastructure Bank and a $321.5 million revenue bond.
- The Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel District will also contribute money from its general fund toward the five-year project, which is expected to begin late next year.
Dive Insight:
In July, the CBBT awarded the project to the Dragados USA-led Chesapeake Tunnel Joint Venture. The design-build team will utilize a tunnel-boring machine on the project, a specialty area for Dragados. The company is also a player in the Alaskan Way Viaduct project in Seattle, where the TBM broke down and was inoperable for two years
A Wall Street Journal report in April found that TBM technology and machinery have boosted the number of tunneling projects underneath major cities. Tunneling innovations have made it possible for tunneling to be put to use in areas that were previously considered unsafe or impassable.
Virginia's announcement represents a success story as several states across the U.S. are struggling with ways to fund necessary infrastructure repairs and upgrades. A February American Road and Transportation Builders Association study found that approximately 10% of the nation's bridges were structurally deficient in 2015. And in a May report, the American Society of Civil Engineers found that the U.S. will give up 2.5 million jobs and $4 trillion in gross domestic product over the next 10 years if it can’t figure out how to make up a $1.44 trillion infrastructure funding shortfall.
