VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A multimillion-dollar project to expand the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) is now at a standstill after crews made an unexpected discovery at the bottom of the bay floor.
Crews tunneled directly into a century-old anchor that CBBT officials believe could have been at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay since the 18th or 19th century. The anchor is engraved "W.L. Byers Company" and could have been brought there by an English ship.
"We looked up the name and found it was from an old English manufacturing company," Michael Christ, the deputy executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Expansion Project, said. "It's interesting, but I wish we didn't find it."
The discovery is now costing the $756 million project six months of time and resources to remove it piece by piece.
Christ said the delay could be longer or shorter, as they are not sure if the anchor damaged any of their equipment.
"We won't know until we can get in there and remove it, and we'll be inspecting the cutter head," Christ said.
It's not the first time this expansion project has been delayed.
Work began on the project in 2017, and it was originally set to be completed in July. Then in 2020, the wrap-up date was pushed back to 2024, due in part to the granite boulders that were used to build the bridge-tunnel 60 years ago. In August 2022, the project's completion was pushed back even further.
Christ said their crews have made significant progress, but the anchor is an unavoidable roadblock. He said once the parallel southbound tunnel is finally complete it should make drivers feel more at ease crossing the Chesapeake Bay.
"It's already tight for many people who are driving through the tunnel so many people tend to white knuckle it," said Christ. "This way people will be moving all in one direction, and traffic should move at a faster rate."
Crews expect to fully remove the anchor by sometime in February 2024. The project's completion date is now pushed back to May 2027.