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Interstate 264 (Virginia)

Interstate 264 (Virginia)

Interstate 264 is an unusual 3-digit interstate that contains both a bypass and a spur off Interstate 64 in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. It also features drawbridge, a rarity on the U.S. Interstate Highway System. The Elizabeth River separates Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia. The bypass section of I-264 is a direct connection to downtown Norfolk and Portsmouth, and links the two cities through the Berkley Bridge, a cantilevered drawbridge over the East Branch of the Elizabeth River, and the dual-tube Downtown Tunnel under the South Branch of the Elizabeth River. Interstate 464 connects with it at the point in the Berkley section of Norfolk between the Berkley Bridge and the Downtown Tunnel. The western end of I-264 connects with Interstate 664 at a portion of the Hampton Roads Beltway near Bower's Hill and the Great Dismal Swamp. The bypass segment of I-264, which passes through downtown Norfolk and Portsmouth, is about a mile shorter than the main leg it bypasses. The spur section of I-264 is effectively a continuation of the bypass portion, running from its intersection with I-64 on the eastern portion of the Hampton Roads Beltway due east toward Virginia Beach's oceanfront seaside resort district. This portion was originally built with toll revenue bond financing as the Virginia Beach Expressway, a toll road designated as Virginia State Route 44. After the bonds were retired and tolls were removed in 1995, Virginia Route 44 was converted to a freeway, and in 1999, the I-264 designation was added. The Berkley Bridge is one of only a small number of drawbridges on the Interstate Highway System.

Interstate 64

Interstate 64 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. Its western terminus is just west of an interchange with Missouri Highway K in O'Fallon, Missouri; its eastern terminus is at an intersection with Interstate 264 and Interstate 664 at Bowers Hill in Chesapeake, Virginia. The Missouri Department of Transportation is currently extending Interstate 64 to Interstate 70 in Wentzville, Missouri. Currently an interchange is being built at Route N in St. Charles County, Missouri. This interchange will also accommodate the future tie in of the Missouri Route 364 freeway to I-64. In 2007, construction will start to rebuild 12 miles of Interstate 64 from Spoede Rd. to Boyle Ave[http://www.thenewi64.org]. This project will include repaving the entire road, rebuilding the overpasses and interchanges, adding a fourth lane between Spoede Rd. and Interstate 170, and connecting Interstate 64 to Interstate 170 in all directions. MoDOT will use the Design-Build method in order to complete the project in as little as three years.

Length

Notable cities along the route

Design-Build
- Saint Louis, Missouri
- Evansville, Indiana (via Interstate 164)
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Frankfort, Kentucky
- Lexington, Kentucky
- Ashland, Kentucky (via US 60 and US 23)
- Huntington, West Virginia
- Charleston, West Virginia
- Beckley, West Virginia
- Lexington, Virginia
- Charlottesville, Virginia
- Richmond, Virginia
- Williamsburg, Virginia
- Newport News, Virginia
- Hampton, Virginia
- Norfolk, Virginia
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Chesapeake, Virginia

Intersections with other Interstates

- Interstate 55 in Saint Louis, Missouri. They stay connected until East Saint Louis, Illinois.
- Interstate 70 in Saint Louis, Missouri. They stay connected until East Saint Louis, Illinois.
- Interstate 57 for 5 miles (8 km) around Mount Vernon, Illinois
- Interstate 65 in Louisville, Kentucky
- Interstate 71 in Louisville, Kentucky
- Interstate 75 for 6 miles (10 km) in Lexington, Kentucky
- Interstate 77 in Charleston, West Virginia. They stay connected until Beckley, West Virginia.
- Interstate 79 stops at Interstate 77 one mile north of Interstate 64 at Charleston, West Virginia.
- Interstate 81 in Lexington, Virginia. They stay connected until Staunton, Virginia.
- Interstate 95 for 4 miles (6.5 km) in Richmond, Virginia ([http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Richmond,+Virginia&ll=37.554104,-77.446060&spn=0.122562,0.180038&hl=en Map])

Spur routes

- Spur to Evansville, Indiana - I-164
- Louisville, Kentucky - I-264; also called the Watterson Expressway (this is the inner beltway at Louisville; the outer beltway is I-265)
- Hampton Roads area, Virginia - I-264, I-464, I-564, I-664

Notes

- The final section of Interstate 64 to be completed was in West Virginia between Sam Black Church and the West Virginia Turnpike near Beckley. This section, opened in 1988, is 38 miles long, and cost about $300 million to build, making it one of the most costly sections in the entire U.S. Interstate Highway System. It crosses some particularly rugged terrain, in one area descending at a 7% grade over nearly 5 miles, necessitating two emergency truck escape ramps to help runaway trucks stop safely. The ramps were used with such frequency that a truck speed advisory system was installed to automatically weigh each truck and indicate the speed at which it should begin the downhill section. The system has been plagued with problems since its installation; nevertheless, the journey from Charleston to Lewisburg is far quicker and far safer than the previous trip on U.S. 60, much of which winds through the mountains as a two-lane road.
- Tolls are still collected on the portion of I-64 which is shared with Interstate 77 on the West Virginia Turnpike between Beckley and Charleston.
- The terrain, possibly coupled with politics, results in the highway crossing the Kanawha River on major bridges no less than four times in the Charleston area.
- The eastern terminus of I-64 is not the road's easternmost point. After crossing Hampton Roads through the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and entering Norfolk, the road makes a wide loop toward Virginia Beach and through that city's northwest side. The road then curves toward its final destination on the west side of Chesapeake. From the point where the road enters Chesapeake, I-64 East actually runs westward, ending at a location known as Bower's Hill near the edge of the Great Dismal Swamp where it joins Interstate 664.
- The portion of Interstate 64 east from its junction with Interstate 664 in Hampton, and all of Interstate 664 form the Hampton Roads Beltway.
- Interstate 64 has two three-digit bypasses that are shorter than the main leg, both in the Hampton Roads area.
- Interstate 664, which connects the Virginia Peninsula to South Hampton Roads on the western side of Chesapeake (and to the eastern terminus of I-64), is about 15 miles (24 km) shorter than the bypassed main leg.
- The bypass segment of I-264, which passes through downtown Norfolk, is about a mile (1.6 km) shorter than the main leg it bypasses.
- Interstate 264 in the Hampton Roads area is an unusual 3-digit interstate that contains both a bypass and a spur route.
- The bypass section is a direct connection to downtown Norfolk and Portsmouth.
- The spur section, which runs from I-64 toward Virginia Beach's seaside resort district, was originally the Virginia Beach Expressway, a toll road designated as Virginia Highway 44. The tolls were removed in 1995 and the former toll road was renumbered as part of I-264 in 1999.
- Part of the Blue Star Memorial Highway system.

Reference

- Cahal, Sherman. "Interstate 64." American Byways. 17 July 2005 [http://www.americanbyways.com/index.php?catid=16 http://www.americanbyways.com/index.php?catid=16].
- 2005 Rand McNally "The Road Atlas 2005" - newest feature- interstate mileage by state
- MoDOT: The New I-66 [http://www.thenewi64.org/].

External links

- [http://www.americanbyways.com/index.php?catid=16 American Byways's Interstate 64 Article]
- [http://www.wvturnpike.com/ West Virginia Turnpike official website]
- [http://www.roadstothefuture.com/I64_I77_WVa.html Roads to the Future website] 64 64 64 64 64 64 64

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is one of the original thirteen states of the United States that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, and is part of the South. It is one of four states that use the name commonwealth. Virginia was the first part of the Americas to be colonized permanently by England. Virginia's U.S. postal abbreviation is VA, and its Associated Press abbreviation is Va. Kentucky and West Virginia were part of Virginia at the time of the founding of the United States; but the former was admitted to the Union as a separate state in 1792, while the latter broke away from Virginia during the American Civil War. Virginia is known as the "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents, more than any other state. Five of them were re-elected to a second term: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe and Woodrow Wilson. William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Zachary Taylor round out the list of American Presidents from the Commonwealth of Virginia. (Harrison and Taylor died while in office.)

History

Native Americans

At the time of the English colonization of Virginia, among Native American people living in what now is Virginia were the Cherokee, Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Meherrin, Monacan, Nansemond, Nottaway, Pamunkey, Pohick, Powhatan, Rappahannock, Saponi, and Tuscarora. The natives are often divided into three groups. The largest group are known as the Algonquian who numbered over 10,000. The other groups are the Iroquoian (numbering 2,500) and the Siouan. [http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webunits/vahistory/tribes.html]

Virginia Colony: 1607–1776

At the end of the 16th century, when Great Britain began to colonize North America, Virginia was the name that Queen Elizabeth I of England (who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married) gave to the whole area explored by the 1584 expedition of Sir Walter Raleigh along the coast of North America, eventually applying to the whole coast from South Carolina to Maine. The London Virginia Company became incorporated as a joint stock company by a proprietary charter drawn up on April 10, 1606. It swiftly financed the first permanent English settlement in the New World, which was at Jamestown, named in honor of King James I, in the Virginia Colony, in 1607, which settlement was founded by Captian Christopher Newport and Captain John Smith. Its Second Charter was officially ratified on May 23, 1609. Jamestown was the original capital of the Virginia Colony, and remained so until the State House burned (not the first time) in 1698. After the fire, the colonial capital was moved to nearby Middle Plantation, which was renamed Williamsburg in honor of William of Orange, King William III. Virginia was given its nickname, "The Old Dominion", by King Charles II of England at the time of the Restoration, because it had remained loyal to the crown during the English Civil War.

A new state

In 1780, during the American Revolutionary War, the capital was moved to Richmond at the urging of then-Governor Thomas Jefferson, who was afraid that Williamsburg's location made it vulnerable to a British attack. In the autumn of 1781, American troops trapped the British on the Yorktown peninsula in the famous Battle of Yorktown. This prompted a British surrender on October 19, 1781, formally ending the war and securing the former colonies' independence, even though sporadic fighting continued for two years. Patrick Henry served as the first Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779, and again from 1784 to 1786. On June 12, 1776, the Virginia Convention adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, a document that influenced the Bill of Rights added later to the United States Constitution. On June 29, 1776, the convention adopted a constitution that established Virginia as a commonwealth independent of the British Empire. In 1790 both Virginia and Maryland ceded territory to form the new District of Columbia, but in an Act of the U.S. Congress dated July 9, 1846, the area south of the Potomac that had been ceded by Virginia was retroceded to Virginia effective 1847, and is now Arlington County and part of the City of Alexandria.

American Civil War

Virginia is one of the states that seceded from the Union to become the Confederacy during the Civil War. When it did, some counties were separated as Kanawha (later renamed West Virginia), an act which was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 1870. More battles were fought on Virginia soil than anywhere else in America during the Civil War. Virginia formally rejoined the Union on January 26, 1870, after a period of post-war military rule.

20th century

When Douglas Wilder was elected Governor of Virginia on January 13, 1990, he became the first African-American to serve as Governor of a U.S. state since Reconstruction.

Law and government

The capital is Richmond: the current Governor is Mark Warner, a Democrat. Tim Kaine, also a Democrat, is the governor-elect. Previous capitals included Jamestown (1609–1699) and Williamsburg (1699–1780). The Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond was designed by Thomas Jefferson and the cornerstone was laid by Governor Patrick Henry in 1785. In colonial Virginia, the lower house of the legislature was called the House of Burgesses. Together with the Governor's Council, the House of Burgesses made up the General Assembly. The Governor's Council was composed of 12 men appointed by the British Monarch to advise the Governor. The Council also served as the General Court of the colony, a colonial equivalent of a Supreme Court. Members of the House of Burgesses were chosen by all those who could vote in the colony. Each county chose two people or burgesses to represent it, while the College of William and Mary and the cities of Norfolk, Williamsburg, and Jamestown each chose one burgess. The Burgesses met to make laws for the colony and set the direction for its future growth; the Council would then review the laws and either approve or disapprove them. The approval of the Burgesses, the Council, and the Governor was needed to pass a law. The idea of electing burgesses was important and new. It gave Virginians a chance to control their own government for the first time. At first the burgesses were elected by all free men in the colony. Women, indentured servants, and Native Americans could not vote. Later the rules for voting changed, making it necessary for men to own at least fifty acres (200,000 m²) of land in order to vote. Founded in 1619, the Virginia General Assembly is still in existence as the oldest legislature in the Western Hemisphere. Today, the General Assembly is made up of the Senate and the House of Delegates. Like many other states, by the 1850s Virginia featured a state legislature, several executive officers, and an independent judiciary. By the time of the Constitution of 1901, which lasted longer than any other state constitution, the General Assembly continued as the legislature, the Supreme Court of Appeals acted as the judiciary, and the eight elected executive officers were the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, State Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration. The Constitution of 1901 was amended many times, notably in the 1930s and 1950s, before it was abandoned in favour of more modern government, with fewer elected officials, reformed local governments and a more streamlined judiciary. Virginia currently functions under the 1970 Constitution of Virginia. It is the state's ninth constitution. Under the Constitution, the State Government is composed of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch or state legislature is the Virginia General Assembly, a bicameral body whose 140 members make all state laws. Members of the Virginia House of Delegates serve two-year terms, while members of the Virginia Senate serve four-year terms. The General Assembly also selects the state's Auditor of Public Accounts. The statutory law enacted by the General Assembly is codified in the Code of Virginia. The executive branch comprises the Governor of Virginia, the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, and the Attorney General of Virginia. All three officers are separately elected to four-year terms in years following Presidential elections (1997, 2001, 2005, etc) and take office in January of the following year. The Governor serves as chief executive officer of the Commonwealth and as Commander-in-Chief of the State Militia. State law forbids any Governor from serving consecutive terms. The Lieutenant Governor serves as President of the Senate of Virginia and is first in the line of succession to the Governor. The Attorney General is chief legal advisor to the Governor and the General Assembly, chief lawyer of the state and the head of the Department of Law. The Attorney General is second in the line of succession to the Governor. Whenever there is a vacancy in all three executive offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, then the Speaker of the House of the Virginia House of Delegates becomes Governor. The Office of the Governor's Secretaries helps manage the Governor's Cabinet, comprised of the following individuals, all appointed by the Governor:
- Governor's Chief of Staff
- Secretary of Administration
- Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry
- Secretary of Commerce and Trade
- Secretary of the Commonwealth
- Secretary of Education
- Secretary of Finance
- Secretary of Health and Human Resources
- Secretary of Natural Resources
- Secretary of Public Safety
- Secretary of Technology
- Secretary of Transportation
- Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Virginia Court of Appeals, the General District Courts and the Circuit Courts. The Virginia Supreme Court, composed of the chief justice and six other judges is the highest court in the Commonwealth (although, as with all the states, the U.S. Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over decisions by the Virginia Supreme Court involving substantial questions of U.S. Constitution law or constitutional rights). The Chief Justice and the Virginia Supreme Court also serve as the administrative body for the entire Virginia court system. The 95 counties and the 39 independent cities all have their own governments, usually a county board of supervisors or city council which choose a city manager or county administrator to serve as a professional, non-political chief administrator under the council-manager form of government. There are exceptions, notably Richmond, Virginia, which has a popularly-elected Mayor who serves as chief executive separate from the city council.

Political control

After William Mahone and the Readjuster Party lost control of Virginia politics around 1883, the Democratic Party held a strong majority position of state and federal offices for over 85 years. In 1970, Republican A. Linwood Holton Jr. became the first Republican governor in the 20th century. In the years thereafter, Republicans made substantial gains, and for a time, controlled both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, as well as the Governorship from 1994 until 2002.
- Republicans hold both seats in the U.S. Senate, 8 of 11 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, hold a majority in the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate, and a Republican is Virginia's Lieutenant Governor-Elect. A republican is also temporarily serving as attorney general having been appointed to fill the seat left by Jerry Kilgore. However, the recent election for attorney general to fill the open seat has not been decided and a recount will occur to determine the election.
- Democrats control the remaining 3 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Governor and Governor-Elect are both Democrats. The Democrats have steadily been gaining seats in the Virginia House of Delegates and may soon take control, however the State Senate will likely remain under Republican Leadership. Incumbent Virginia governors cannot run for re-election under the state constitution and In the November 2005 election, the race to succeed Democratic Governor Mark Warner, Democrat Timothy M. Kaine beat Republican Attorney General Jerry Kilgore (Scott County), and State Senator Russ Potts (Winchester) (longtime Republican) running as an independent. Kaine will become governor of the state at his inauguration on January 14, 2006.

Geography

2006 2006 Virginia is bordered by West Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia (across the Potomac River) to the north, by Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, by North Carolina and Tennessee to the south, and by Kentucky and West Virginia to the west. The Chesapeake Bay divides the state, with the eastern portion (called 'the Eastern Shore of Virginia'), a part of the Delmarva Peninsula, completely separate (an exclave) from the rest of the state. Geographically, Virginia is divided into the following 5 regions:
- Tidewater - Stretching from the Atlantic coast to the fall line
- Piedmont - East of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Tidewater Region
- Blue Ridge Mountains - East of the Appalachian Mountains to the Blue Ridge Mountain Region
- Valley and Ridge - Appalachian Mountains and Shenandoah Valley Region
- Appalachian Plateau - West of the Appalachian Mountains Virginia's long east-west axis means that metropolitan northern Virginia lies much closer to New York and New England than to the rural western panhandle of its own state. Conversely, Lee County, at the tip of the panhandle, is closer to 8 state capitals than it is to Richmond.

Demographics

As of 2004, Virginia's population was estimated to be 7,459,827. The state had a foreign-born population of 679,500 (9.1% of the state population), of which an estimated 100,000 were illegal aliens (15% of the foreign-born). The state's population increased by 1.3 million between 1990 and 2004, a growth of 21% Race and Ancestry
The racial makeup of the state:
- 70.2% White non-Hispanic
- 19.6% Black
- 4.7% Hispanic
- 3.7% Asian
- 0.3% Native American
- 2% Mixed race The five largest reported ancestry groups in Virginia are: African American (19.6%), German (11.7%), American (11.2%), English (11.1%), Irish (9.8%). Historically, as the largest and wealthiest colony and state and the birthplace of Southern and American culture, a large proportion (about half) of Virginia's population was made up of black slaves who worked the state's tobacco, cotton, and hemp plantations. The twentieth century Great Migration of blacks from the rural South to the urban North reduced Virginia's black population to about 20 percent. Today Blacks are concentrated in the eastern and southern tidewater and piedmont regions where plantation agriculture was most dominant. The western mountains are populated primarily by people of British and American ancestry. People of German descent are present in sizable numbers in the northwestern mountains and Shenandoah Valley. And due to recent immigration, there is a rapidly growing population of Hispanics (particularly Central Americans) and Asians in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. 6.5% of Virginia's population were reported as under 5, 24.6% under 18, and 11.2% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.

Religion

The religious affiliations of the people of Virginia are:
- Christian – 84%
- Protestant – 69%
- Baptist – 32%
- Methodist – 8%
- Episcopal – 3%
- Presbyterian – 3%
- Other Protestant or general Protestant – 23%
- Roman Catholic – 14%
- Other Christian – 1%
- Other Religions – 2%
- Non-Religious – 12%

Economy

Virginia's economy has long been regarded as one of the better-balanced in the United States with diverse sources of income, including military installations concentrated in the Hampton Roads area, tobacco and peanut farming all through Southside Virginia, manufacturing and transportation, and the location of Northern Virginia as a bedroom community for the federal government and its vendors. Virginia, arguably the wealthiest southern state before the Civil War, recovered from the civil war and the Great Depression much faster than the rest of the south. Today it is still significantly wealthier than the rest of the south, although much of that is from the northern influence around Washington D.C.

Transportation

Northern Virginia Virginia is served by a network of Interstate Highways, arterial highways, several limited access tollways, bridges, tunnels, and three bridge-tunnel complexes. The [http://www.springfieldinterchange.com/ Springfield Interchange Project] (also known as "The Mixing Bowl") and the replacement of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, two of the country's largest highway improvement projects, are taking place in the state ten miles apart. Major airports are located in these areas: Northern Virginia (Reagan-National and Dulles), Richmond-Petersburg (Richmond), Virginia Peninsula (Newport News), South Hampton Roads (Norfolk), and the Roanoke Valley (Roanoke). Virginia has extensive waterways. In addition to the lower portion of the Chesapeake Bay, navigable rivers include the Elizabeth River at Hampton Roads, the James River, the York River, the Rappahannock River, and the Potomac River. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway passes through eastern Virginia. Virginia has Amtrak passenger rail service along several corridors and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) maintains two commuter lines into Washington, D.C. The Washington Metro serves Northern Virginia as far west as Fairfax County.

Sports

Virginia is by far the most populous U.S. state without a major professional sports league franchise. The reasons for this include the close proximity of Washington, D.C. which has franchises in all four major sports, and the lack of any dominant city or market within the state. An attempt to bring a National Hockey League expansion franchise to Hampton Roads in the 1990s was rejected by the NHL. A proposal to relocate the Montreal Expos to Northern Virginia was considered by Major League Baseball, but MLB eventually settled on the national capital as the Expos' new home. Virginia is home to many minor league clubs, especially in baseball and soccer.

Important cities and towns

Under the laws in effect in Virginia, all municipalities incorporated as cities are independent of any county. Of the 43 independent cities in the United States, 39 are in Virginia. The complete list of Virginia independent cities follows: Some other municipalities are incorporated towns, which are not independent of a county, but rather, located within one of the 95 counties in Virginia. These incorporated towns include: Finally, Arlington County, which lies across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is a completely urbanized community, much like a city, but remains organized as a county, and has no towns within its borders. There are also hundreds of other unincorporated communities (sometimes informally called villages or towns) in Virginia.

Colleges and universities

Miscellaneous information

- State motto: "Sic semper tyrannis." (Thus always to tyrants.)
- State bird: Cardinal
- State dog: American Foxhound
- State flower: Dogwood
- State tree: Dogwood
- State insect: Tiger swallowtail
- State bat: Virginia Big-Eared Bat
- State song: none; the former state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," was retired in 1997 because some found its lyrics to be racially offensive
- State dance: Square dance
- State boat: Chesapeake Bay deadrise
- State fish: Brook trout
- State shell: Oyster
- State fossil: Chesapecten Jeffersonius
- State beverage: Milk USS Virginia was named in honor of this state.

Other places

There are also places named Virginia in the States of Illinois and Minnesota: see
- Virginia, Illinois.
- Virginia, Minnesota.

External links

- [http://www.virginia.gov State Government website]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/raleigh.htm Charter to Sir Walter Raleigh : 1584]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va01.htm The First Charter of Virginia; April 10, 1606]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va02.htm The Second Charter of Virginia; May 23, 1609]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va03.htm The Third Charter of Virginia; March 12, 1611]
- [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51000.html U.S. Census Bureau]
- [http://www.vahistorical.org Virginia Historical Society]
- [http://www.historical-markers.org Virginia's Historical Markers]
- [http://www.virginiaplaces.org/ Geography of Virginia]
- [http://www.fathersforvirginia.org/ Fathers for Virginia]
- Category:States of the United States ko:버지니아 주 ja:バージニア州

Drawbridge

A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle, but the term is also used to describe modern bascule bridges and lift bridges. The most common type of drawbridge consists of a wooden platform with one fixed side (normally with a hinge), and the other side attached to the wall it is raised against by rope or chains. Pulling on the chain raises the bridge. These chains were usually operated from a floor higher than the drawbridge. In the Middle Ages drawbridges where often used to allow or deny access across a moat or ditch. They could be let down to allow people across, or pulled up to deny entry into the castle. moat Now, with cars and trains in need of crossing small waterways without blocking boats from passing, drawbridges have a more peaceful reason for their existence. In Queensland, diamond crossings between narrow gauge cane tramways and main lines are being replaced by drawbridges, so that the rails of the main line are completely unbroken by gaps or weak spots. This also allows the main line speeds to be raised.

Elizabeth River (Virginia)

The Elizabeth River is a short tidal estuary forming an arm of Hampton Roads at the southern end of Chesapeake Bay in southeast Virginia in the United States. It is located along the southern side of the mouth of James River, between the cities of Portsmouth and Norfolk. The estuary provides significant military and commercial port facilities for the two cities. The main branch of the estuary is approximately 5 mi (8 km) long and 2 mi (3.2 km) wide at its mouth. It is formed at its southern end by three branches, the East Branch, South Branch, and West Branch. The South Branch connects to the Albemarle-Chesapeake Canal, forming part of the Intracoastal Waterway. The estuary receives the smaller Lafayette River estuary from the east near its mouth. The river was named by the Jamestown colonists in the early 17th century for Princess Elizabeth Stuart, the daughter of King James I of England and a sister of the later King Charles I.

External links

- [http://www.loc.gov/bicentennial/propage/VA/va-4_h_sisisky6.html Elizabeth River Project]
- [http://www.norfolkhistorical.org/highlights/03.html Norfolk Historical Society: Elizabeth River] Category:Chesapeake Bay Watershed Category:Rivers of Virginia Category:James River Watershed

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is a city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States of America. It is an independent city, and therefore not included in any county. Norfolk is one of Virginia's largest cities; as of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 234,403. However, a recent 2004 census shows that the city's population has since risen to 237,835. Norfolk is located on the Elizabeth River, in Hampton Roads, a large natural harbor. It is a part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, officially known as the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA. The city has a long history as a strategic military and transportation point. Norfolk is home to both the Norfolk Naval Base, the world's largest naval base, and the Norfolk Southern Railway, one of North America's principal Class I railroads. It has many miles of riverfront and bayfront property, and is linked with its neighbors through an extensive network of Interstate highways, bridges, tunnels, and bridge-tunnel complexes. Since the 1970s, the downtown area and waterfront has undergone substantial revitalization. It is home to the Norfolk Tides, the top International League affiliate of the New York Mets, and the Norfolk Admirals, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks.

History

The site of what is now Norfolk was originally the Chesipean Indian town Skicoak. (The Chesipeans had been destroyed by Powhatan by the time of the arrival of the first English settlers, who, in 1585, settled on Roanoke Island in modern-day North Carolina. In 1591, the colony of Roanoke disappeared without a trace.) The city was laid out in 1682 and incorporated in 1845. It became an independent city from Norfolk County in 1871. On New Year's Day, 1776 the royal governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore shelled the city of Norfolk. (A cannonball from Dunmore's seige may be viewed today in the wall of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.) Dunmore's forces had been defeated at the Battle of Great Bridge and he was seeking to take control of the rebellious colony. The damage from the shells and fire destroyed 800 buildings, almost two-thirds of the city. Colonists, essentially completing the destruction of the city, later destroyed another 400 buildings as part of a scorched earth policy. In 1855, the city suffered an epidemic of yellow fever which killed 1 of every 3 citizens. In 1858, the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad built by William Mahone was completed to Petersburg, where major connections were made with railroads to points north, west, and south. During the US Civil War, in 1862, the Battle of Hampton Roads between the ironclads Monitor and Merrimac was fought off Norfolk. Early in the war, Mahone commanded the city's defenses during the period of Confederate occupation which ended in May, 1862. In the late 19th century, the Norfolk and Western Railway established the community as a major coal export port and built a large transloading facility at Lambert's Point. The year 1907 brought the Virginian Railway and the Jamestown Exposition to Sewell's Point. The large naval review at the Exposition demonstrated the favorable location, laying the groundwork for the Norfolk Navy Base which was built there beginning in 1917. The city limits were expanded in 1923 to include Sewell's Point, Willoughby Spit, and Ocean View, adding the Navy Base and miles of beach property fronting on Hampton Roads and the Chesapeake Bay. Ward's Corner, then just outside Norfolk, became the first non-downtown shopping district in the country. Today, Norfolk is experiencing a great deal of urban renewal. Beginning in the late 1970s, mall-developer James W. Rouse developed Waterside in downtown Norfolk, a festival marketplace concept which helped transform a formerly seedy harbor area into a major catalyst for other redevelopment. Downtown Norfolk is clean, attractive and growing quickly. The Ghent community has become popular with artistic types and yuppies. Many other areas of Norfolk are being revitalized, including Ocean View and East Beach, both on the Chesapeake Bay.

Norfolk features

Norfolk is a major military center. With Portsmouth (directly across the Elizabeth River), it forms an extensive naval complex. The headquarters of the 5th Naval District, the Atlantic Fleet, the 2nd Fleet, and the Supreme Allied Command are at Sewell's Point. The Norfolk Navy Base is the largest naval base in the United States and includes a naval air station and other facilities. Several vessels of the Navy have been named USS Norfolk after the city. General Douglas MacArthur is buried in the city; there is a small museum for him, and a major shopping mall across the street from his burial site is named for him. The city is home to Old Dominion University, Eastern Virginia Medical School and Norfolk State University(fifth largest black university in America); Virginia Wesleyan College, a private liberal arts college,lies within Norfolk City limits. The city's public school system comprises 5 high schools, 8 middle schools, 34 elementary schools, and 9 special-purpose/preschools. Norfolk Public Schools recently received a 2005 National Academic Award for having one of the most outstanding public school systems in the nation. Norfolk Academy, founded in 1728, is the city's oldest private school. Norfolk Southern Corporation, a Fortune 500 company and fourth largest railroad line in America has its headquarters in downtown Norfolk. The international headquarters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are located on the city's waterfront just to the west of downtown. Waterside is a popular festival marketplace attraction.

Pronunciation

Many longtime residents of Norfolk and Hampton Roads generally pronounce the city's name (IPA) , while others in the state use the pronunciation . The "L" in Norfolk is generally only pronounced by those from other locales and is considered incorrect by most people from the region. Similar pronunciation variations are found in the names of other Hampton Roads cities, such as Portsmouth and Suffolk.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 249.4 km² (96.3 mi²). 139.2 km² (53.7 mi²) of it is land and 110.3 km² (42.6 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 44.22% water. In addition to extensive riverfront property, Norfolk has miles of bayfront resort property and beaches in the Willoughby Spit and Ocean View communities.

Demographics

Ocean View, Portsmouth and Norfolk, Virginia from space, July 1996. Norfolk is located in the upper right quadrant.]] As of the census of 2000, there are 234,403 people, 86,210 households, and 51,898 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,684.4/km² (4,362.8/mi²). There are 94,416 housing units at an average density of 678.5/km² (1,757.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 48.36% White, 44.11% African American, 0.46% Native American, 2.81% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 1.67% from other races, and 2.48% from two or more races. 3.80% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 86,210 households out of which 30.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.9% are married couples living together, 18.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% are non-families. 30.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.45 and the average family size is 3.07. The age distribution is 24.0% under the age of 18, 18.2% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 16.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 30 years. For every 100 females there are 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 104.8 males. The median income for a household in the city is $31,815, and the median income for a family is $36,891. Males have a median income of $25,848 versus $21,907 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,372. 19.4% of the population and 15.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 27.9% of those under the age of 18 and 13.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Transportation

Norfolk is linked with its neighbors through an extensive network of arterial and Interstate highways, bridges, tunnels, and bridge-tunnel complexes, notably the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel which enters Norfolk at Willoughby Spit. The major east-west routes are Interstate 64, U.S. Highway 58 and U.S. Highway 460. The major north-south routes are U.S. Highway 13 and U.S. Highway 17. An extensive transit bus system and paratransit services are provided by Hampton Roads Transit, a regional public transport system headquartered in Norfolk. A light rail service is in planning stages. Norfolk is served by Amtrak via connecting bus with the railroad line across Hampton Roads which terminates at Newport News, and runs west along the Virginia Peninsula to Richmond. A high speed rail connection at Richmond to both the Northeast Corridor and the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor are also under study. Norfolk and the rest of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area (including Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Hampton, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Williamsburg and Poquoson, Virginia) are served by Norfolk International Airport and Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport.

Trivia

- The Norfolk Naval Shipyard or "Norfolk Navy Yard" is in Portsmouth, Virginia. They could not name it the "Portsmouth Naval Shipyard," because there was already one of those in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
- South Norfolk is a community in Chesapeake.
- West Norfolk is a community in Portsmouth, as is Port Norfolk.

Sister Cities

Norfolk has five sister cities, as designated by [http://www.sister-cities.org/ Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI)]: Kaliningrad (Russia), Kitakyushu, Fukuoka (Japan), Norfolk County/Norwich (United Kingdom), Toulon (France), and Wilhelmshaven, Niedersachsen (Germany).

External links

- [http://www.norfolk.gov/ City of Norfolk]
- [http://www.norfolkvisitor.com/ Visitor's Guide]
- [http://www.norfolkcvb.com/ Norfolk Convention and Visitor's Bureau] Category:Cities in Virginia Category:Norfolk, Virginia ja:ノーフォーク (バージニア州)

Berkley Bridge

The Berkley Bridge on Interstate 264 crosses the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the South Hampton Roads area. It links Berkley with the downtown area of Norfolk and connects with the Downtown Tunnel. It is is one of only a small number of drawbridges on the Interstate Highway System. It is a toll-free facility.

History, earlier bridges

The Town of Berkley was in Norfolk County, Virginia. It was located directly across the eastern branch of the Elizabeth River across from the City of Norfolk. In 1909, the Town of Berkley was annexed by the independent city of Norfolk, and is now considered a neighborhood of that city. (Both the Town of Berkley and Norfolk County are now extinct. In 1963, Remaining portions of Norfolk County were consolidated with the City of South Norfolk to form the City of Chesapeake). An earlier Berkley Bridge was built before 1922. A replacement was completed in 1952 as part of the original Downtown Tunnel project between the City of Portsmouth and Norfolk. The project was funded with toll revenue bonds.

1991: 8 lanes and I-464

In 1991, during an expansion of I-264 , the Downtown Tunnel and the Berkley Bridge were rebuilt and expanded to 8 lanes, including a new interchange for Interstate 464 which connects the Berkley area with Interstate 64 in the independent City of Chesapeake.

External links

- [http://www.roadstothefuture.com/ Roads to the Future website] Category:Bridges completed in 1952 Category:Bridges in Virginia

Downtown Tunnel

The Downtown Tunnel on Interstate 264 crosses the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River in the South Hampton Roads area. It links the independent City of Portsmouth with the independent City of Norfolk. In conjunction with the Berkley Bridge, the Downtown Tunnel connects to Interstate 464 to the City of Chesapeake and a continuation I-264 to the downtown and Waterside areas of Norfolk, and on to Virginia Beach. It is a toll-free facility.

History

The two-lane Downtown Tunnel replaced a automobile ferry system and in conjunction with the Berkley Bridge, was the first fixed crossing directly between Portsmouth and Norfolk across the Elizabeth River. It financed with toll revenue bonds and was completed in 1952.

1989: 4 lanes and I-264

In 1988 and 1989, during an expansion of I-264 , the Downtown Tunnel and the Berkley Bridge were rebuilt and expanded. Tolls were also removed. The interchange with I-464 at the eastern end of the tunnel at the Berkley Bridge was added in 1991.

External links

- [http://www.roadstothefuture.com/ Roads to the Future website] Category:Tunnels in Virginia

Hampton Roads Beltway

Hampton Roads Beltway is a loop of Interstate 64 and Interstate 664 highways which link the communities of the Virginia Peninsula and South Hampton Roads which surround the body of water known as Hampton Roads in the southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States. In January, 1997, a 56-mile-long I-64/I-664 loop was designated by the Virginia Department of Transportation (and signed) as the Hampton Roads Beltway. This was chosen instead of renumbering the whole road to Interstate 864. I-64, the portion which was completed first, makes a huge 35 mile long arc around the area, from Hampton through portions of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Chesapeake and around Portsmouth to reach Bower's Hill at the edge of the Great Dismal Swamp. The newer I-664 portion of 21 miles connects with I-64 at Bowers' Hill in Chesapeake and crosses through Suffolk and Newport News to reconnect with I-64 in Hampton, completing the loop. The beltway has the clockwise direction (as looking down at a map of the area) signed as the Inner Loop, and the counter-clockwise direction signed as the Outer Loop. Essentially, I-64 forms the eastern portion and I-664 the western portion of the beltway.

History

Building of Interstate 64 was the first priority in the region, and a portion of Interstate 264 through Portsmouth was completed even as I-64 finally reached its eastern terminus at Bower's Hill in Norfolk County (now the City of Chesapeake). Even before I-64 was built, from some of the earliest planning stages, there were hopes of a circumferential highway to interstate standards for Hampton Roads. Some proposals envisioned state and local and/or toll funding funding if necessary to achieve that goal. However, the Interstate 664 projects eventually were successful in reaching the goal in 1992. At one time, a proposal was floated to renumber Interstate 64 south of Interstate 664 in Hampton as Interstate 864, the Hampton Roads Beltway. However, this proposal was rejected by business leaders in the area who did not want to have an established two-digit Interstate replaced with a new three-digit Interstate. Had this proposal come to pass, Interstate 64 would have ended at its junction with Interstate 664. However, as a compromise, Interstate 64 southeast of Interstate 664 was signed as part of the Hampton Roads Beltway (Interstates 64 and 664), and it is easier to describe direction of travel as "inner" (clockwise) or "outer" (counterclockwise).

Bridge-Tunnels across Hampton Roads

A major aspect of the Interstate Highway system in the Hampton Roads area are the two bridge-tunnels which each cross the harbor of Hampton Roads. Both form a portion of the Hampton Roads Beltway, and are the only direct crossings of Hampton Roads.

Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel

Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) is the 3.5-mile-long Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 64. It is comprised of bridges, trestles, man made islands, and tunnels under the main shipping channels for Hampton Roads harbor. It connects the independent cities of Hampton and Norfolk. Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel has two 12-foot-wide lanes each way, on separately built structures. The original two-lane structure replaced a ferry system and opened November 1, 1957 at a cost of $44 million dollars. The construction of the original Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel was funded with toll revenue bonds. The bonds were paid off before the second portion was opened. The construction of the $95 million second portion of the HRBT was funded as part of the Interstate Highway System as authorized under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, as a portion of I-64, which means that it was funded with 90% FHWA funds from the Highway Trust Fund and 10% state DOT funds. When the second span was opened to traffic in 1976, the tolls were removed.

Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel

Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel (MMMBT) is the 4.6 mile-long Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 664. It is comprised of bridges, trestles, man made islands, and tunnels under the main shipping channels for Hampton Roads harbor. It connects the independent cities of Newport News and Suffolk. The MMMBT cost $400 million to build, and it includes a four-lane tunnel that is 4,800 feet long, two man-made portal islands, and 3.2 miles of twin trestle. It was named for the two ironclad warships which engaged in the famous Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862 during the US Civil War. The battle took place within approximately one mile of the current bridge-tunnel structure.

Major Cities Along the Route

- Chesapeake, Virginia
- Hampton, Virginia
- Newport News, Virginia
- Norfolk, Virginia
- Portsmouth, Virginia
- Suffolk, Virginia
- Virginia Beach, Virginia

Reference

- 2005 Rand McNally "The Road Atlas 2005" - newest feature- interstate mileage by state
- Virginia Department of Transportation Travel Center - Hampton Roads Tunnels and Bridges [http://www.virginiadot.org/comtravel/hro-tunnel-default.asp 1]

External links

- [http://www.roadstothefuture.com/main.html Roads to the Future website]
- [http://www.kurumi.com/roads/3di/ix64.html#664va Kurumi's website about 3 digit interstates connecting with I-64, including I-864]
- [http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-064.html Interstate Guide I-64 in Virginia]
- [http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-664_va.html Interstate Guide I-664 in Virginia]
- [http://www.virginiadot.org/ Virginia Department of Transportation] category:Transportation in Virginia 64-8 64-8

Great Dismal Swamp

in the United States on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.]] The Great Dismal Swamp is a marshy region on the Coastal Plain of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina in the United States. It is a southern swamp, the northernmost of many along the Atlantic Ocean's coast which includes the Everglades and the Big Cypress Swamp in Florida, the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, the Congaree Swamp and Four Holes swamps of South Carolina, and some of the Carolina bays in the Carolinas. Along the eastern edge runs the Dismal Swamp Canal, completed in 1805. Essential to the swamp ecosystem are its water resources, native vegetative communities, and varied wildlife species. The Great Dismal Swamp's ecological significance and its wealth of history and lore make it a unique wilderness. It is one of the last large and wild areas remaining in the Eastern United States. After centuries of logging and other human activities which were devastating the swamp's ecosystems, the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1973 when the Union Camp Corporation of Franklin, Virginia donated 49,100 acres (200 km²) of land; the refuge was officially established through The Dismal Swamp Act of 1974. The refuge consists of over 111,000 acres (500 km²) of forested wetlands. Lake Drummond, a 3,100 acre (13 km²) natural lake, is located in the heart of the swamp. Outside the boundaries of the National Refuge, the state of North Carolina has preserved and protected additional portions of the swamp.

History

Scientists believe the Great Dismal Swamp was created when the Continental shelf made its last big shift. The whole swamp has peat underneath. The origin of Lake Drummond, one of only two natural lakes in Virginia, is in argument. Scientists believe the lake could have been created by the impact of a meteorite because it is oval shaped, looking like the impact of a meteor. They think it was made by a big meteorite like the ones that are thought to have made the Carolina Bays. Other people believe it was made by a large underground peat burn about 3,500 to 6,000 years ago. Indian legend talks about "the fire bird" creating Lake Drummond. People are not sure who discovered the Great Dismal Swamp but there is archeological evidence which indicates human occupation began nearly 13,000 years ago. By 1650, few Native Americans remained in the area, and European settlers showed little interest in the swamp. In 1665, William Drummond, a future governor of North Carolina, was the first European to explore the lake which now bears his name. William Byrd II led a surveying party into the swamp to draw a dividing line between Virginia and North Carolina in 1728. Twenty-six years before George Washington became the first president of the United States, he first visited the swamp and then formed the Dismal Swamp Land Company in 1763, which proceeded to drain and log off part of the area. A five-mile ditch on the west side of the current refuge there still bears his name. In 1805, the Dismal Swamp Canal began serving as a commercial highway for timber coming out of the swamp. Dismal Swamp Canal Before and during the American Civil War, the Great Dismal Swamp was a hideout for runaway slaves from the surrounding area. Some people believe there were at least a thousand slaves living in the swamp. This was the subject of Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp, Harriet Beecher Stowe's follow-on to Uncle Tom's Cabin. While all efforts to drain the swamp ultimately failed, logging of the swamp proved to be a successful commercial activity. Regular logging operations continued as late as 1976. The entire swamp has been logged at least once, and many areas have been burned by periodic wildfires. The Great Dismal Swamp has been drastically altered by humans over the past two centuries. Agricultural, commercial, and residential development destroyed much of the swamp, so that the remaining portion within and around the refuge represents less than half of the original size of the swamp. Before the refuge was established, over 140 miles of roads were constructed to provide access to the timber. These roads severely disrupted the swamp's natural hydrology, as the ditches which were dug to provide soil for the road beds drained water from the swamp. The roads also blocked the flow of water across the swamp's surface, flooding some areas of the swamp with stagnant water. The logging operations removed natural stands of baldcypress and Atlantic white cypress that were replaced by other forest types, particularly red maple. A drier swamp and the suppression of wildfires, which once cleared the land for seed germination, created environmental conditions that were less favorable to the survival of cypress stands. As a result, plant and animal diversity decreased.

Preservation

In the mid 20th century, conservation groups from all over America began demanding that something be done to preserve what was left of the Great Dismal Swamp. In 1973, the Union Camp Company, a paper company based in Franklin, Virginia which had had large land property in the area since the beginning of this century, donated just over 49,000 acres (198 km²) of its land to The Nature Conservancy, which transferred the property the following year to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was officially established by the U.S. Congress through The Dismal Swamp Act of 1974. The refuge consists of almost 107,000 acres (433 km²) of forested wetlands. The primary purpose of the refuge's resource management programs is to restore and maintain the natural biological diversity that existed prior to the human-caused alterations. Essential to the swamp ecosystem are its water resources, native vegetation communities, and varied wildlife species. Water is being conserved and managed by placing water control structures in the ditches. Plant community diversity is being restored and maintained through forest management activities which simulate the ecological effects of wildfires. Wildlife is managed by insuring the presence of required habitats, with hunting used to balance some wildlife populations with available food supplies.

Today

The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is located not only between two states, but also between two eco-regions, allowing for a wide range of plant and animal species. Baldcypress, tupelo, maple, Atlantic white cypress, and pine are the predominant tree species found on the refuge and support the wildlife within. Many mammal species, including black bear, bobcat, otter, and weasel along with over 70 species of reptiles and amphibians call the swamp home. More than 200 bird species can be seen at the swamp throughout the year, while 96 of those are known to nest on the refuge. Lake Drummond is the middle of activity in the swamp today, though, with many fishermen, sightseers, and boaters. Boat tours are given from the Dismal Swamp Canal, to Lake Drummond. The refuge is open daily during daylight hours. There is no entrance fee. The refuge headquarters, at the western edge of the refuge, is open on weekdays, except national holidays. Visitor activities include birdwatching, photography, hiking, bicycling, boating and canoing (a boat-launching ramp, offering access to Lake Drummond, is provided onto the Feeder Ditch, at the eastern edge of the refuge), fishing, and deer hunting on parts of the refuge during the designated season. Although camping is not permitted on the refuge, campground facilities are available in the general vicinity. Hiking opportunities include the nearly 0.75-mile (wheelchair-accessible) Dismal Town Boardwalk Trail, located on Washington Ditch Road, that winds through part of the swamp habitat; and a number of the refuge's unpaved roads that are also open to bicycling. The peak influx of neotropical migratory songbirds, such as numerous species of warblers, is from late April to mid-May. The Dismal Swamp Canal canal continues to serve recreational boaters as part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

External links

- [http://greatdismalswamp.fws.gov/ official site National Park Service, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge]
- [http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/us_nwr/va_great.htm GORP's guide to The Great Dismal Swamp]
- [http://www.cesa10.k12.wi.us/Ecosystems/wetlands/types/greatdismalswamp/ a sixth grade student's report on the Great Dismal Swamp]
- [http://www.defenders.org/habitat/refuges/map/va.html Defenders of Wildlife Organization - Great Dismal Swamp page] Category:Ecoregions Category:Geography of Virginia Category:Virginia history Category:Wetlands

Hampton Roads Beltway

History

Bridge-Tunnels across Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel

Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel

Major Cities Along the Route

- Chesapeake, Virginia
- Hampton, Virginia
- Newport News, Virginia
- Norfolk, Virginia
- Portsmouth, Virginia
- Suffolk, Virginia
- Virginia Beach, Virginia

Reference

External links

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the South Hampton Roads area in the Commonwealth of Virginia, on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the 40th largest city in the US, with a total population of 445,928. Virginia Beach is best known as a major resort, with miles of beaches and dozens of hotels, motels, and restaurants. It is also home to several state parks, several long protected beach areas, three military bases, a number of large corporations, and two universities. The city is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having the longest pleasure beach in the world and is located at the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, the longest bridge-tunnel complex in existence.

History

Cape Henry: first landing

The first landfall of the Jamestown colonists in 1607 was at Cape Henry, in the northeastern part of today's city, however the settlers left the area due to the inability to grow food. Today, the site is within the boundaries of Fort Story, a U.S. Army installation used for training by the Army, Navy, and Marines. A memorial cross near the landing site and the historic Cape Henry Lighthouse are accessible to the general public. First Landing State Park (formerly Seashore State Park) nearby was named to commemorate this event.

1634 to 1963 shire to county

During the 17th century, shortly after establishment of the Jamestown Settlement in 1607, English settlers explored and began settling the areas adjacent to Hampton Roads. In 1634, the King of England directed the formation of eight shires (or counties) in the colony of Virginia. One of these was Elizabeth City Shire, which included land area on both sides of Hampton Roads. In 1636, New Norfolk County was subdivided from it, including all the area in South Hampton Roads now incorporated in the five independent cities located there in modern times. The following year, in 1637, it was divided into into Upper Norfolk County and Lower Norfolk County. In 1691, Lower Norfolk County was in turn divided to form Norfolk County and Princess Anne County. Princess Anne, the easternmost county in South Hampton Roads, extended northward from the North Carolina border to Cape Henry at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, and included the area fronting the Atlantic Ocean.

Incorporated as town in 1908, city in 1952

Beginning in the late 19th century, the small resort area of Virginia Beach grew in Princess Anne County, particularly after 1888 with the arrival of rail service and electricity. A passenger station at Cape Henry built in 1902 and served by the original Norfolk Southern Railway was restored late in the 20th century and is used as an educational facility by Fort Story. Another railroad station near 18th street was torn down. Part of the original railroad from Norfolk near the Oceanfront is now used as a pedestrian and bicycle path. The growing resort of Virginia Beach was incorporated as a town in

Interstate 264 (Virginia)

See also

Interstate 64

Length

Notable cities along the route

Intersections with other Interstates

Spur routes

Notes

Reference

See also

External links

Virginia

History

Native Americans

Virginia Colony: 1607–1776

A new state

American Civil War

20th century

Law and government

Political control

Geography

Demographics

Religion

Economy

Transportation

Sports

Baseball

Basketball

Ice hockey

Indoor football

Soccer

Important cities and towns

Colleges and universities

Miscellaneous information

See also

Other places

External links

Drawbridge

See also

Elizabeth River (Virginia)

See also

External links

Norfolk, Virginia

History

Norfolk features

Pronunciation

Geography

Demographics

Transportation

Trivia

Sister Cities

See also

External links

Berkley Bridge

History, earlier bridges

1991: 8 lanes and I-464

External links

Downtown Tunnel

History

1989: 4 lanes and I-264

External links

Hampton Roads Beltway

History

Bridge-Tunnels across Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel

Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel

Major Cities Along the Route

Reference

External links

Great Dismal Swamp

History

Preservation

Today

External links

Hampton Roads Beltway

History

Bridge-Tunnels across Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel

Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel

Major Cities Along the Route