Admiral Clarey Bridge
| Admiral Clarey Bridge | |
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Admiral Clarey Bridge with the USS Arizona Memorial, USS Bowfin, museums, naval yards, and Aloha Stadium visible
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| Coordinates | 21°22′09″N 157°56′39″W / 21.3691°N 157.9441°WCoordinates: 21°22′09″N 157°56′39″W / 21.3691°N 157.9441°W |
| Crosses | Pearl Harbor |
| Locale | Aiea, Hawaii |
| Official name | Admiral Bernard "Chick" Clarey Bridge |
| Other name(s) | Ford Island Road |
| Maintained by | U.S. Navy |
| ID number | 1HI0320 |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Pontoon bridge (Floating concrete drawbridge) |
| Material | Concrete |
| Total length | 4,672 ft (1,424 m) |
| Width | 44 ft (13 m) |
| No. of spans | 30 |
| History | |
| Designer | Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc |
| Construction begin | 10 January 1996 |
| Opened | 15 April 1998 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 5500 |
Admiral Clarey Bridge, also known as the Ford Island Bridge, is a pontoon bridge, commonly called a floating concrete drawbridge, providing access to Ford Island, a United States Navy installation situated in the middle of Pearl Harbor. The bridge provides access to Ford Island's historic sites to the public via tour bus and provides access to O'ahu for US military families housed on the island. Before the completion of the bridge, the island's residents were required to use ferry boats operated by Naval personnel that operated on an hourly basis. The bridge is one of only a few floating bridges and its floating moveable span is the largest worldwide. Its namesake, Admiral Bernard A. Clarey, was one of the Navy's most decorated officers.
Prior to the bridge being built, access to Ford Island was provided via ferryboats. Two diesel-powered ferries served the island, Waa Hele Honoa (YFB-83) and Moko Holo Hele (YFB-87). The Waa Hele Honoa, translated to "Canoe go to land", was purchased in 1959 for $274,000. Later, the ferry was pressed into service by the Navy on 3 March 1961. It is the older and larger of the two ferries at 181 feet long. It could carry 750 people and 33 vehicles. The other, Moko Holo Hele, translated to "boat go back and forth", was purchased for $1.1 million on 25 May 1970. It is 162 feet long, but can hold 750 people and 42 vehicles. Both ferries were operated by U.S. Navy personnel. Access to the island was restricted to U.S. military personnel, their dependents, and invited guests. In addition to the two car ferries there were several smaller "foot ferries" that allowed pedestrians to transit between Ford Island and several alternate landings around Pearl Harbor.
Proposals to connect the island had been around since 1967. A 1967 study suggested that there were only three ways to connect the island: a bridge, a tunnel, or a rubble-filled causeway. The 1976 military construction budget included a proposal for a $25 million causeway but it was removed from the budget for being too expensive. Other proposals such as a steel bridge were considered but were never constructed because of the cost. Not until Sen. Inouye's special legislation, 10 U.S.C. § 2814, to authorize the Navy to sell land to fund the bridge did a real proposal come to fruition. The bridge was primarily funded through the "Manana deal" with Pearl City where the Navy sold 109 acres (44 ha), called the Manana storage site, to Pearl City for development for $94,000,000. The Navy was also able to lease and sell 34 acres (14 ha) of Ford Island as part of Sen. Inouye's renovation project to use private funds to redevelop the island.
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