Scheduled bridge lift: Blessing or bust

WAVY.com investigated a change that affects tens of thousands of Berkley Bridge and Downtown Tunnel drivers every day. You may not know this, but to improve the quality of life for commuters, the Virginia Department of Transportation got the Coast Guard to have scheduled lifts during the day. It's part of a temporary test.

VDOT requested the Coast Guard try, on a temporary basis, scheduled lifts at the bridge at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m. for the average 92,300 drivers who go in and out of the downtown tunnel every day.

Bridge user Zeke Brown says the change is a quality of life improvement, "As long I can run on a schedule. My message to the Coast Guard is keep the scheduled lifts because then I can better plan my day."

VDOT's District Administrator Dennis Heuer responding to concerns about congestion choke points asked the Coast Guard to allow this test to be conducted until March. "The net result is you can plan your day when that bridge may open."

Wendy Sanborn said, "With the scheduled lifts it makes for longer lifts when they do open." Our WAVY.com investigation found that was only true during the week of November 2. The bridge was open 81 minutes that week in 2008, and 84 minutes for the same period in 2009. The other weeks since the new trial schedule began October 5th are amazing in what they show:

The week of October 19:

• 107 minutes open in 2008
• 39 minutes open in 2009

The week of October 26:

• 128 minutes open in 2008
• 93 minutes open in 2009

The Week of November 9:

• 195 minutes in 2008
• 71 minutes open in 2009

"Now Andy, this is limited data and we only got four weeks of data to judge by, but so far so good," Heuer told WAVY.com's Andy Fox.

Not excited by the changes is the Virginia Maritime Association that represents 400 companies involved with the maritime industry. Vice President David White wrote, "The effects of winds, currents and tides have an important impact on safe navigation and those conditions do not follow a clock. Our members have reported...instances that have been detrimental to safe operations."

The Coast Guard is taking public feedback on the change through December 8. The trial period will continue until March 9 when another decision will be made whether or not to continue the scheduled lifts.

"I'm glad you're here to help us get comments," said Waverly Gregory who is Chief, Bridge Administrator Branch of the Coast Guard. "We hope this works to balance maritime and vehicle traffic...protecting the safety of those on the water and the roads."

VDOT also estimates each bridge lift costs $22,000 in motorist related delays associated with lost time.

Tell VDOT what you think about the scheduled lifts. Take their survey:
http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/fifth_coast_guard_district_feedback_survey.asp

Tell the Coast Guard what you think. Send an email to:
waverly.w.gregory@uscg.mil