ONLEY, Va. (Delmarva Now) -- A Nandua Middle School student is the winner of a contest to name the tunnel boring machine that will excavate a new tunnel being built on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
Bridge-tunnel officials announced Thursday that the winning entry was submitted by Grace Bentley of Nandua Middle School.
Bentley's choice for the machine's name is Chessie.
The winner was chosen in an online vote from a list of the top 10 entries selected by a review committee.
According to Bentley's 1-minute, 28-second video entry, Chessie is a natural choice, based on the legend of the sea monster who lives deep within the Chesapeake Bay.
"It didn't take me long to think of a perfect name," said Bentley in the cartoon-style video.
"People have used the name Chessie for boats, railroads, statues, trails, trains, dogs and many other things in our area," she said, adding, "I think the name Chessie is perfect for the tunnel boring machine because the name Chessie is loved and used a lot."
According to legend, sailors have described the sea monster as a long, snake-like creature, "so it is analogous to the 325-foot long (tunnel boring machine) that will dig its way through the Bay bottom," a press release announcing the winners said.
The name will be displayed on the machine's side during a launching ceremony expected to happen in 2019.
The machine currently is being manufactured in Germany.
Once completed and launched, it will dig a mile-long, $756 million tunnel under Thimble Shoal Channel, parallel to the existing tunnel there.
Coming in second place in the online voting was Caleb McIntyre of Broadwater Academy, who submitted the name BESSY the Boring Bufflehead.
The third place winner was Shania Finley of Kiptopeke Elementary School, who suggested the name MS. TAYLOR.
"Every student who participated in this naming contest is to be commended, as their entries expressed a lot of thought and creativity," said Jeff Holland, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel executive director.
"The Commission extends congratulations to the winners and we appreciate the excellent effort invested by all students to take part in this unique opportunity. We look forward to the students, teachers, and their classes continuing to follow the progress of this tunnel project until it is completed," Holland said.
The winners' submissions can be viewed at www.cbbt.com/TBMNamingContest.
The committee that chose the top entries included representatives from partners in the Thimble Shoals Parallel Tunnel project, including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Commission; Chesapeake Tunnel Joint Venture; Jacobs; Mott MacDonald; HNTB; and Womens' Transportation Seminar, Hampton Roads Chapter.
More than 120 entries in all were received from sixth-grade students from the Eastern Shore and the Hampton Roads region.
In addition to the boring machine launching ceremony, there will be a receiving ceremony in mid- to late-2020, when construction reaches the other end of the tunnel, Holland said at a groundbreaking ceremony for the project in September.
Finally, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held, likely in mid- to late-2022, to mark the opening of the parallel tunnel to traffic.
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