Final Thought on the Jordan Bridge

I have talked to the City of Chesapeake and they have said that they can not keep the bridge open for bicycles. They did, however, tell me that they would consider a water taxi/ferry plan for bicycles and pedestrians. They would also look into creating a park and ride system with a direct route to the shipyard.

Lastly, for those who'd like to know a bit of history about the bridge. It was built in 1928 and cost $1.25 million. It was built by Carl M Jordan, who owned the Jordan Brothers Lumber Co with his brother. They constructed the bridge out of their personal money because the public transportation, the Norfolk County Ferry Service, was to unreliable for their business, which transported uncut lumber to their South Norfolk mill from the Great Dismal Swamp. They set up a non-profit organization to manage the bridge and even ran it until it was completely paid off in 1977. After it was paid for they gave it to Chesapeake... at which point it has become what we have now. Heres an idea. Maybe we could solicit a new company to build a new bridge. This time, however, keep the private commission to run it. (Taken from cityofchesapeake.net)