Boulders Slowing Progress on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel Expansion Project Now 2 Years Behind Schedule

Photo credit: Jim Powers from Chester Springs, PA, USA, CC BY 2.0

Originally slated to be completed in 2022, the construction of a second Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in Virginia Beach is now officially two years behind schedule with the newest hinderance to timely construction being large granite boulders.

The tunnel expansion project is designed to add two additional tunnels parallel to the two current tunnels in order to end the two-way traffic congestion inside the existing tunnels. Construction of the first new tunnel started in 2017 and is being built under a shipping channel located nearest to Virginia Beach. The project was originally scheduled to be completed in 2022 with a price tag of $756 million. However, after a number of delays, the current projected completion date is 2024 with giant boulders being the newest obstacle.

The granite boulders, as large as 6 feet in diameter and weighing up to 25 tons, help make up two 5.25 acre manmade islands. In order to construct the new 5,700 ft long tunnel, the boulders need to be excavated in order to provide access for a tunnel boring machine (TBM) arriving from Germany this year. The TBM is designed to bore through soft soil, not hard granite boulders. Therefore, the construction contractors must pound steel pilings through the boulders as part of the excavation effort to provide access for the TBM. Mike Crist, the bridge tunnel’s deputy executive director of infrastructure described this process as driving a nail through granite rock.

As a result, construction progress is going much slower than anticipated due to the new boulder debacle and construction on the second parallel tunnel is not expected to begin before 2037. You can find more info on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel project and the tunnel boring process here.