During a recent visit to the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, I stopped briefly to photograph two significant crossings over the South Branch of the Elizabeth River. This river is vital for maritime traffic and forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
What caught my eye first was the Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad crossing of the river, which features a Warren through-truss lift span and three through-truss approach spans. Constructed between 1955 and 1958, it replaced a swing span built in 1898.
Nearby is the South Norfolk Jordan Bridge, an impressive segmental box girder structure connecting Chesapeake and Portsmouth. Completed in 2012, it replaced a 1928 lift bridge that had become weight-restricted and obsolete.
