Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel |
|
|---|---|
| Carries |  I-664 |
| Crosses | Hampton Roads |
| Locale | Suffolk, Virginia to Newport News, Virginia |
| Maintained by | Virginia Department of Transportation |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Composite--Low-level Trestle, Double-tube Tunnel, Manmade islands |
| Total length | 4.6 miles (7.4 km) |
| Clearance above | 14'6" (4.42 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | April 30, 1992 |
Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel (MMMBT) is the 4.6 mile-long (7.4 km) Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 664 in the southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States. It is a four-lane bridge–tunnel composed of bridges, trestles, man-made islands, and tunnels under a portion of the Hampton Roads harbor where the mouths of the James, Nansemond, and Elizabeth Rivers come together.
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 Interstate 64 between the independent cities of Hampton and Norfolk, and the James River Bridge connecting the independent city of Newport News and Isle of Wight County in the South Hampton Roads region. 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 (1,463 m) long, two man-made portal islands, and 3.2 miles (5.1 km) of twin trestle.
Battle of Hampton Roads
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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 the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia. The latter ship had been rebuilt from the wreck of the USS Merrimack. The site of the battle was within 1 mile (1.6 km) of the bridge–tunnel structure named by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a memorial.
