place

Great Bridge, Virginia

Boroughs of Chesapeake, VirginiaChesapeake, Virginia communitiesHampton Roads, Virginia geography stubs

Great Bridge is a community located in the independent city of Chesapeake in the U.S. state of Virginia. Its name is derived from the American Revolutionary War Battle of Great Bridge, which took place on December 9, 1775, and resulted in the final removal of British government from the Colony and Dominion of Virginia. The main branch of the Chesapeake Public Library named the Central Library, which itself is located in Great Bridge, displays a 12-pound cannonball, labeled as having been fired at the Battle of Great Bridge. The written histories of the battle are specific in stating that there were only two cannon at the battle, both British "four pounders." Though the battles of Lexington and Concord took place months earlier, and are historically more memorable, the Battle of Great Bridge can be seen as the first strategically important colonial victory over the British, forcing Lord Dunmore's 200 redcoats to evacuate Fort Murray and withdraw to Norfolk. The city hall as well as other major municipal buildings for Chesapeake lie within Great Bridge. Great Bridge was essentially a small town or crossroads until the late 1980s and 1990s, when it experienced significant growth. It contains large residential areas as well as many large shopping centers. Also, Great Bridge was the home of professional baseball players, Michael Cuddyer, David Wright, B.J. Upton, and Justin Upton. Former Virginia Tech, Denver Broncos, and Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Carlton Powell also hails from Great Bridge. Lawrence Johnson, the 2000 Summer Olympics pole vault silver medalist, is also from Great Bridge. Other local notable celebrities include Larry Bergman who in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia won a gold medal in fencing and Thompson Mann, who won a gold medal for swimming in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Great Bridge, Virginia (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Great Bridge, Virginia
South Battlefield Boulevard, Chesapeake Great Bridge

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Great Bridge, VirginiaContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 36.713888888889 ° E -76.238888888889 °
placeShow on map

Address

Town and Country Plaza

South Battlefield Boulevard 316
23322 Chesapeake, Great Bridge
Virginia, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Share experience

Nearby Places

Dominion Boulevard Steel Bridge

Dominion Boulevard Steel Bridge (known locally as simply the Steel Bridge) was a double-leaf bascule, two-lane drawbridge which spanned the Southern Branch Elizabeth River in the City of Chesapeake in South Hampton Roads in southeastern Virginia. Built in 1962 and operated by the City of Chesapeake, it carried U.S. Route 17 (US 17) which is Dominion Boulevard (formerly numbered as State Route 104). The corridor frequently acts as a bypass route for congested I-64 High Rise Bridge traffic. Because of the low water clearance, bridge openings were commonplace for the bridge, with an average of 16 lifts per day. Combined with an average daily traffic count of 33,000, it frequently became a choke point for commuters who lived in the Deep Creek part of the city, with a failing level of service on the entire stretch according to a during a 2006 traffic plan by the HRPTO.In January 2013, Chesapeake Public Works began construction on a $345 million fixed-bridge replacement project called the Veterans Bridge, which was completed in late 2017. It expanded Dominion Blvd. from two to four lanes from the intersection of Cedar Road & Moses Grady Trail to the interchange of Great Bridge Blvd. The Veterans Bridge is tolled, which started at the rate of $1 in 2017. This project is also a part of the planning for the future Interstate 87 that will connect the Raleigh-Durham Metro area to the Hampton Roads region.After the first span of the Veterans Bridge opened in December 2014, the Steel Bridge was shut down and demolished.