The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel

The most interesting part of my trip was travelling over (and under) the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (see also the official website). One of the "Seven Engineering Wonders of the World," the bridge was constructed to connect DelMarVa with Virginia Beach. The bridge is 17.6 miles long in water up to 100 feet deep and the bridge goes underwater into tunnels twice. Being a scientist this fascinated me and it was visually pleasing as well. It cost $450,000,000 to build. The man-made islands that serve as entrances and exits to the tunnels are made up of 34,000 carloads of rocks, some of which weigh as much as 64,000 pounds. Each contains 3,000,000,000 pounds of sand and 600,000,000 pounds of rock. They cost $625,000 per acre, some of the most expensive real-estate on Earth. Below are some postcards that I scanned in so you can get a feel for what the bridge was like (I also have some video captures which I will upload later). I loved it. There were parts of the bridge where (at least on that hazy day) you could not see land, with the Chesapeake Bay on your right and the Atlantic on your left, and ships were all around you. After you exit the second tunnel there is a man-made island with a Restaurant, Gift Shop and Pier. I took some pictures there and ate dinner at the restaurant with a sense of "Agent Cooper" satisfaction ("Diane: excellent food and reasonable prices.") When you're done here you can continue with my photos of the CBBT.
DelMarVa entrance to the bridge.
First Tunnel Ends	Second Tunnel Begins	Second Tunnel Ends Pier / Gift Shop / Restaurant
Second Tunnel Ends	Building of the Island	Inside the Tunnel