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23-567: The Varina-Enon Bridge has six lanes (three lanes each way) with full right and left shoulders, with 150 feet (46 m) of vertical navigational clearance and 630 feet (190 m) of horizontal navigational clearance. The bridge spans the shipping channel that leads to the Port of Richmond . The overall bridge length is 4,680 feet (1,430 m). The bridge is owned and maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). It

46-706: A high level was needed to clear a shipping channel, but there was a strong desire to avoid a drawbridge configuration following the collision of the SS Marine Floridian into the Benjamin Harrison Bridge at Jordan Point, a few miles downstream, in 1977. That complex bridge structure was out of service for over a year. At 157 feet (48 m) tall, the Varina-Enon Bridge was the tallest bridge in Virginia when it opened; it

69-552: A new collection of innovations to champion every two years that merit accelerated deployment. Among the approaches promoted by the EDC effort are: adaptive traffic control to reduce fuel consumption and improve travel time reliability ; alternative intersection design; prefabricated bridge elements and systems; high-friction surface treatments; warm mix asphalt; ultra-high-performance concrete; virtual public involvement; and time-saving strategies such as rapid bridge replacement . Since

92-551: A question based on the LTPP data. In 2010, FHWA launched the Every Day Counts (EDC) initiative to identify and deploy innovations to reduce project delivery time, enhance safety, and protect the environment. EDC is a state-based model that rapidly deploys proven, yet underutilized innovations. FHWA works with State transportation departments, local governments, tribes, private industry, and other stakeholders to identify

115-756: Is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program. Its role had previously been performed by the Office of Road Inquiry , Office of Public Roads and the Bureau of Public Roads . With the coming of the bicycle in

138-665: Is now third-tallest, behind the 225-foot (69 m) US 460/Corridor Q bridge over Grassy Creek connecting Buchanan County with Pike County, Kentucky (opened in 2016) and the 175-foot (53 m) Wilson Creek Bridge carrying the Virginia Smart Road over Wilson Creek in Montgomery County (opened in 2001). It is similar in design to the Senator William V. Roth Jr. Bridge in Delaware , which

161-685: The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which is used by most highway agencies in the United States. The MUTCD provides such standards as the size, color and height of traffic signs , traffic signals and road surface markings . Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) is a program supported by the FHWA to collect and analyse road data. The LTPP program was initiated by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of

184-634: The National Research Council (NRC) in the early 1980s. The FHWA with the cooperation of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) sponsored the program. As a result of this program, the FHWA has collected a huge database of road performance. The FHWA and the ASCE hold an annual contest known as LTPP International Data Analysis Contest , which is based on challenging researchers to answer

207-515: The 1890s, interest grew regarding the improvement of streets and roads in America. The traditional method of putting the burden on maintaining roads on local landowners was increasingly inadequate. In 1893, the federal Office of Road Inquiry (ORI) was founded; in 1905, it was renamed the Office of Public Roads (OPR) and made a division of the United States Department of Agriculture . Demands grew for local and state government to take charge. With

230-732: The 1998 Federal Highway Administration Excellence Award in the category of Environment Protection and Enhancements. 37°22′47″N 77°20′47″W  /  37.379740°N 77.346368°W  / 37.379740; -77.346368 Port of Richmond Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 609454994 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 10:59:46 GMT Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration ( FHWA )

253-644: The Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary informed of the birds' movements. Peregrine falcons were listed as federally endangered in 1970 under the Endangered Species Conservation Act. At that time, there were virtually none in the east, and the population in the rest of the country had fallen by 80 to 90%. Beginning in the 1970s, a national effort was undertaken to recover breeding populations and to restore

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276-683: The Federal Lands Highway Program (sometimes called "direct fed"), the FHWA provides highway design and construction services for various federal land-management agencies, such as the Forest Service and the National Park Service . In addition to these programs, the FHWA performs and sponsors research in the areas of roadway safety, congestion, highway materials and construction methods, and provides funding to local technical assistance program centers to disseminate research results to local highway agencies. The FHWA also publishes

299-466: The James River were banded with a transmitter for tracking purposes, and two were released at Shenandoah National Park . Environmentalists prefer to leave one chick with its parents when possible, but the birds have a better chance of staying alive when released in the wild. One concern is that a falcon learning to fly may not survive a fall onto a bridge or even the water below. Bridge employees keep

322-475: The Structure and Bridge Division as it continues to identify other nesting sites. Through placement of nesting boxes on 10 bridges maintained by VDOT, including the Varina-Enon Bridge, the endangered peregrine falcons—considered the world's fastest birds—once again fly high over Virginia's eastern seaboard. Because of the significant role it played in the recovery of the peregrine falcon in Virginia, VDOT earned

345-417: The Virginia peregrine falcon population. In a major victory for the endangered species, and VDOT's environmental efforts, in the spring of 2003, nearly a dozen peregrine falcon chicks were hatched. Most were taken from their nesting boxes on various VDOT bridges for banding and release to their natural habitat. That spring, three eyases (falcon chicks) on the Benjamin Harrison Bridge on State Route 156 over

368-685: The coming of the automobile, urgent efforts were made to upgrade and modernize dirt roads designed for horse-drawn wagon traffic. In 1910, the American Association for Highway Improvement was organized. Funding came from automobile registration, and taxes on motor fuels, as well as state aid. By 1914, there were 2.4 million miles of rural dirt rural roads; 100,000 miles had been improved with grading and gravel, and 3,000 miles were given high-quality surfacing. The rapidly increasing speed of automobiles, and especially trucks, made maintenance and repair high-priority items. In 1915, OPR's name

391-527: The inception of EDC, each state has used 26 or more of the 57 innovations and some states have deployed more than 45. Many of these practices have become mainstream practices across the country. The Federal Highway Administration is overseen by an administrator appointed by the President of the United States by and with the consent of the United States Senate . The administrator works under

414-763: The new U.S. Department of Transportation . The FHWA took over the functions of the Bureau of Public Roads the following year. The FHWA's role in the Federal-aid Highway Program is to oversee federal funds to build and maintain the National Highway System (primarily Interstate highways , U.S. highways and most state highways). This funding mostly comes from the federal gasoline tax and mostly goes to state departments of transportation . The FHWA oversees projects using these funds to ensure that federal requirements for project eligibility, contract administration and construction standards are adhered to. Under

437-646: The organization was once again named the Bureau of Public Roads; it was placed under the Department of Commerce . From 1917 through 1941, 261,000 miles of highways were built with $ 3.17 billion in federal aid and $ 2.14 billion in state and local funds. The Federal Highway Administration was created on October 15, 1966, along with the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety and the National Highway Safety Bureau (now known as National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ), as part of

460-639: The species. Their population has significantly recovered over the past 30 years, thanks to conservation efforts such as VDOT's. Today, more than 1,500 breeding pairs have been counted in the U.S. and Canada. Along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Conservation Center, VDOT monitors the falcons on each bridge to ensure they and their habitat are doing well. VDOT has even established falcon-specific contract requirements for

483-665: Was changed to the Bureau of Public Roads . The following year, federal aid was first made available to improve post roads and promote general commerce: $ 75 million over five years, issued through the BPR in cooperation with the state highway departments. In 1939, BPR was renamed to the Public Roads Administration (PRA) and shifted to the Federal Works Agency . After the FWA was abolished in 1949,

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506-505: Was completed 5 years after the Varina-Enon Bridge. Eastern Virginia has long been a habitat for endangered birds, notably eagles and peregrine falcons . The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has come to learn that some of its high bridge structures closely match their preferred nesting environment on cliff faces and in high trees. In an award-winning program, nesting boxes for these rare birds were established in several bridges. Bridge pairs now represent approximately 30 percent of

529-556: Was named for Varina , the original county seat of Henrico County which was located near the north end, and Enon , a small community near the south end in Chesterfield County . This bridge was also affected by the 1993 tornado that destroyed half of the Historic District of Petersburg , a Wal-Mart in nearby Colonial Heights , and damaged portions of the city of Hopewell . The design was selected because

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