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| Jonathan Konopka posted This is the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge. It is a double swing bridge that was built in 1952 and carries U.S. Route 17 over the York River between Gloucester Point, Virginia and Yorktown, Virginia. Geoffrey Moreland: Wow. Looks like a cantilever setup when closed Bridges Now and Then posted "This is the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge. It is a double swing bridge that was built in 1952 and carries U.S. Route 17 over the York River between Gloucester Point, Virginia and Yorktown, Virginia." (Industrial History) Michael Niemiera: In the mid 90s it was widened in just over a week by floating the old two lane sections away on barges and floating in new prefabbed 4 lane sections. Reon Hillegass: My father was an iron worker on the original bridge and my paternal grandfather was a civil engineer for the federal government that would inspect the work. In the 1990s a good part of the superstructure was replaced, the piers largely left alone. |
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| 2021 Photo by Jann Mayer via BridgeHunter, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) |
Significance: The George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge is a 3,750-foot, steel deck-truss structure comprised of plate girder approach spans, a series of cantilevered fixed spans, and two center-pivot swingspans which operate in tandem. Built in 1950-1952, the bridge was a key element in a larger program of post-World War II transportation improvements throughout the lower Tidewater region. Designed by the prominent New York City engineering firm of Parsons, Brinkerhoff, Hall & Macdonald, the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge is a significant example of hollow-pier construction utilizing the open-dredge caisson method, and among the few bridges with double swing spans still in operation today. [HAER-data]
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| HAER VA,100-YORK,19--4, cropped 4. General view looking northeast from south bank of York River. - George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge, Spanning York River at U.S. Route 17, Yorktown, York County, VA |
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| HAER VA,100-YORK,19--20, cropped 20. View to southeast at centerline (U37) where swing spans meet. Pivot pier 1N at left, pivot pier 1S is at right. |
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| HAER VA,100-YORK,19--22, cropped 22. View to northwest from Yorktown side, showing swing spans in full open position. |
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| HAER VA,100-YORK,19--29 29. South swing span, showing representative reduction gear/motor drive unit (center) and wedge motor unit (right) |
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| Douglas Butler posted From structure.net George P, Coleman Swing Bridge in Yorktown, VA crossing the York River. |
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| EngineeringNews-Record via BridgeHunter |
In the spring of 1995, the largest double-swing-span bridge in the United States was dismantled and replaced in only nine days. The George P. Coleman Bridge in Virginia was originally constructed in 1952 as a two-lane highway designed to carry no more than 15,000 vehicles a day. By 1995, the population around the bridge had increased so much that the structure was carrying in excess of 27,000 vehicles a day. To make matters worse, the machinery that rotated the massive swing spans often experienced mechanical problems....So between May 4 and May 13, 1995, about 2,500 feet of truss and swing spans -- complete with pavement, lightpoles, and barrier walls -- were floated in six sections over 40 miles from Norfolk, Virginia, to the bridge site. It marked the first time in engineering history that such an enormous bridge was assembled off site and floated into place. The new four-lane bridge is three times wider than the original bridge and can now carry up to 50,000 vehicles daily. [pbs]
Fast Facts:
- The George P. Coleman Bridge is the largest double-swing-span bridge in the United States and the second largest in the world.
- The new bridge weighs only 25 percent more than the original because the new spans are made of lightweight, high-strength steel.
- The two main river piers contain mechanisms that lift the swing spans to different elevations so they don’t hit each other when they rotate.
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Skanska provided two photos along with the comment: "Skanska and PB used a highly innovative approach to replace the George P. Coleman Bridge. This $73M project is the longest double-leaf swing span in the U.S. Six bridge spans were prefabricated 30 miles away and transported by barge to the project. This approach enabled the bridge to be reconstructed along the existing alignment with only nine days of closure, significantly reducing the number of closures anticipated by the owner."
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