A new tunnel at Thimble Shoal Channel on Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel will receive a $338.5 million federal loan to help finance its construction, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Nov. 14.
The project will consist of a new 5,700-foot bored tunnel that will connect two southbound trestles of the existing Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Construction is expected to start in October 2017.
The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, or TIFIA, loan for the project was distributed by the department’s Build America Bureau program.
“The Build America Bureau is all about helping communities find ways to get infrastructure projects funded and built,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. “The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a vital link for thousands of Virginian and U.S. coastal residents, and this loan will make it safer for travelers while reducing congestion and boosting the regional economy.”
“The commonwealth’s infrastructure bank issues low-interest loans to help fund high-priority projects that will improve transportation and benefit the economy,” said Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne.
