Jordan Bridge

South Norfolk Jordan Bridge
The new South Norfolk Jordan Bridge
Carries	Vehicles, pedestrians
Crosses	Southern Branch Elizabeth River
Locale	Chesapeake, Portsmouth
Official name	South Norfolk Jordan Bridge
Other name(s)	Jordan Bridge, Norfolk-Portsmouth Bridge
Owner	United Bridge Partners
Characteristics
Total length	about 5,000 ft (1,500 m)
Height	145 ft (44 m)

The Jordan Bridge, officially named the South Norfolk Jordan Bridge, is a tolled highway fixed bridge which carries State Route 337 over the Southern Branch Elizabeth River from the City of Portsmouth into the City of Chesapeake in South Hampton Roads, Virginia. The new crossing is an all-electronic toll facility that eliminated bridge lifts and height and weight restrictions and restored a vital river crossing for the Hampton Roads region.

Originally opened in 1928, it was privately built by an organization led by South Norfolk businessmen Wallace and Carl Jordan. It was later renamed the Jordan Bridge, principally to honor long-standing manager Carl M. Jordan. The oldest drawbridge in Virginia, the 80-year-old bridge had reached the end of its useful life by 2008. Faced with diminishing returns on millions of dollars in needed maintenance and unknown reliability, it was permanently closed on November 8, 2008.

A replacement bridge, built with 100% private funds, and paid for by tolls, was approved by Chesapeake City Council on January 27, 2009. The new South Norfolk Jordan Bridge was originally scheduled to be completed by July 2010, but was finally completed and opened for use on October 27, 2012. It is owned and operated by United Bridge Partners, a business consortium consisting of two construction companies, the Figg Group and Lane Construction, and a private infrastructure investment firm.

Originally known as the Norfolk-Portsmouth Bridge, the bridge was planned and financing organized by South Norfolk businessman Carl M. Jordan, who operated Jordan Brothers Lumber Co. with his brother Wallace. The Jordan brothers brought lumber from the Great Dismal Swamp to their lumber mill in South Norfolk, and had come to believe that the existing Norfolk County Ferry Service was not dependable enough for the needs of their business, or others in the community.

It was a Waddell & Harrington-type vertical-lift drawbridge and was designed by Harrington, Howard, & Ash (engineers) of Kansas City, Missouri. It was completed at a cost of $1.25 million, and opened on August 24, 1928, as a toll bridge with a ceremony attended by Virginia's Governor Harry F. Byrd.