Opened 2002 | Body of water James River | |
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Similar James River Bridge, Varina‑Enon Bridge, Huguenot Memorial Bridge, Manchester Bridge, Robert E Lee Memorial | ||
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge carries the Pocahontas Parkway, signed as State Route 895, across the James River between the independent city of Richmond and Henrico County. Crossing the southernmost extremity of Richmond, it provides a connection between Henrico and the southern end of Chippenham Parkway near U.S. Route 1 in Chesterfield County, Virginia.
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Bridge features
The 1,475-foot-long, high-level fixed bridge features a 672-foot main span with 145 feet of vertical clearance for marine traffic using Richmond's deepwater port. The bridge also includes nearly 3,500 feet of high-level approach spans and three new, high-level ramp structures that connect to Interstate 95. The high-level bridge cost $111 million.
Public-private partnership
The bridge and the accompanying 8.8 mile Pocahontas Parkway are toll facilities. They were built through a public-private partnership. Though the road had been planned for many years, sufficient state and federal construction funds were not available when the road was finally desired.
In 1995, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Public-Private Transportation Act allowing private entities to propose solutions for designing, constructing, financing and operating transportation improvements. A proposal for the Pocahontas Parkway and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge was submitted jointly by Fluor Daniel and Morrison Knudsen, and an agreement was reached. At the end of the designated period, under the agreement, the ownership of both the bridge and the parkway will be turned over to the Commonwealth of Virginia.