View source for George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge

{{Short description|Bridge across York River in Virginia}}
{{Other uses|Coleman Bridge (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox Bridge
|bridge_name= Coleman Bridge
|image= ColemanBridge.wmg.jpg
|caption= The Coleman Bridge as seen from Yorktown as it connects with Gloucester Point.
|official_name= George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge
|also_known_as= 
|carries= 4 lanes of {{jct|state=VA|US|17}}
|crosses= [[York River (Virginia)|York River]]
|locale= [[Gloucester Point, Virginia|Gloucester Point]] and [[Yorktown, Virginia]]
|maint= [[Virginia Department of Transportation]]
|id= 000000000019824 [https://web.archive.org/web/20090812203735/http://nationalbridges.com/nbi_record.php?StateCode=51&struct=000000000019824]
|design= [[Swing bridge]], with two swinging spans
|designer=  [[Parsons Brinckerhoff]]
|material= High-strength steel
|mainspan= {{convert|450|ft|m}}
|length= {{convert|3750|ft|m}}
|width= 
|clearance= 
|below= {{convert|60|ft|m}}
|traffic= 33,595 (2005)
|open= May 7, 1952; rebuilt in spring 1995
|closed= 
|toll= $2.00 (northbound only) [[Smart Tag]]/[[E-ZPass]]
|map_cue= 
|map_image= 
|map_text= 
|map_width= 
|coordinates = {{coord|37.2426|-76.5070|display=inline,title}}
}}

The '''George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge''' (known locally as simply the '''Coleman Bridge''') is a double [[swing bridge]] that spans the [[York River (Virginia)|York River]] between [[Yorktown, Virginia|Yorktown]] and [[Gloucester Point, Virginia|Gloucester Point]], in the United States state of [[Virginia]]. It connects the [[Virginia Peninsula|Peninsula]] and [[Middle Peninsula]] regions of [[Tidewater region of Virginia|Tidewater, Virginia]]. The bridge is the only public crossing of the York River, though [[State Route 33 (Virginia)|State Route 33]] crosses both of its tributaries (the [[Mattaponi River|Mattaponi]] and [[Pamunkey River]]s) just upriver of their confluence at [[West Point, VA|West Point]].

==History==
Originally built in 1952, it was reconstructed and widened in 1995 through an unusual process which greatly reduced the time the important commuter artery was out-of-service from conventional methods. The current {{convert|3750|ft|m|adj=on}}-long double-swing-span bridge carries [[U.S. Route 17 in Virginia|United States Route 17]], a four-lane arterial highway. The [[Moveable bridge|movable span]] is needed to allow ship access to several military installations that are upstream of the bridge, most notably, the [[United States Navy]]'s [[Naval Weapons Station Yorktown]]. The roadways are almost {{convert|90|ft|m}} above the river at the highest point of the bridge.  The bridge is the largest double-swing-span bridge in the United States, and second largest in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/george_p_coleman.html|title=BUILDING BIG: Databank: George P. Coleman Bridge|work=pbs.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roadstothefuture.com/Coleman_Bridge.html|title=George P. Coleman Bridge|work=roadstothefuture.com}}</ref>

The [[toll bridge]] was named for [[George Preston Coleman|George P. Coleman]], who from 1913 to 1922 was the head of the Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation, predecessor to the [[Virginia Department of Transportation]] (VDOT). The bridge has been one of the sites of a special program to establish and encourage nesting locations for the [[peregrine falcon]] population of Virginia.

==Toll rates==
The George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge is a toll facility. Tolls are only collected northbound, and are used to pay for the expansion of the bridge to four lanes. Toll Collection Rates are as follows:<ref>{{cite web |title=Hampton Roads Tunnels and Bridges |url=http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/hro-tunnel-default.asp#The_Bridges |publisher=Virginia Department of Transportation |access-date=10 June 2019}}</ref>

*Bicycles 0¢
*EZ-Pass (transponder required) 85¢
*Motorcycles 85¢
*Two-axle vehicles $2
*Three-axle vehicles $3
*Four- or more-axle vehicles $4

Bicycles taking advantage of the free crossing must use the established bicycle lane located to the right of the far right travel lane.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ezpassva.com/(S(ox1tlo55jc0pnyfoylhhd245))/TollFacilities/Colemanbridge.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1|title=VDOT :: Coleman Bridge|work=ezpassva.com}}</ref>

==Photos==
<gallery>
File:GeorgePColemanBridge.jpg|Bridge swung open as seen from Yorktown side, Summer 2011
File:Coleman Bridge 080801.jpg|One of the two swing spans while fully turned (open for river traffic)
File:Flickr - Official U.S. Navy Imagery - USS Winston S. Churchill gets underway..jpg|Opened bridge as seen from aboard a Navy ship
File:Coleman Bridge closing.jpg|Bridge swinging closed as seen from down York River
File:Entering Coleman Bridge from Yorktown Side.jpg|Entering Bridge from Yorktown side
File:USSElrod VA.jpg|{{USS|Elrod|FFG-55}} about to pass through the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge on the York River, Summer 2011
File:USS Arleigh Burke traveling under The James P. Coleman Memorial Bridge.jpg|[[USS Arleigh Burke]] traveling under the bridge.
</gallery>

==See also==
* {{Portal-inline|Transport}}
* {{Portal-inline|Engineering}}
*{{Portal-inline|Virginia}}
*[[List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Virginia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|George P. Coleman Bridge}}
*[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/george_p_coleman.html PBS.org description of the bridge]
*{{Structurae|id=20001065|title=George P. Coleman Bridge (1952)}}
*{{Structurae|id=20001066|title=George P. Coleman Bridge (1995)}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041210175657/http://www.virginiadot.org/infoservice/news/is-newsctr-perigrine.asp VDOT website for Peregrine Falcon news]
*[http://www.roadstothefuture.com/Coleman_Bridge.html Roads to the Future: George P. Coleman Bridge]
*{{HAER |survey=VA-57 |id=va1612 |title=George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge, Spanning York River at United States Route 17, Yorktown, York County, VA}}

{{Water Crossings in the Hampton Roads Region}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Swing bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Toll bridges in Virginia]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Virginia]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1952]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Virginia]]
[[Category:U.S. Route 17]]
[[Category:Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System]]
[[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Virginia]]
[[Category:Steel bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in York County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Gloucester County, Virginia]]