Odd driving question

[crazypoohbear]

We are driving down from MA to WDW in 17 DAYS!!!
I have 2 rather odd questions.
1) do we drive over any large expansion type bridges?

2) I remember when I was very young living in MD. there was a bridge that went under water for a long time( at least at 7 it seemed long)
do we go through any bridges that go underwater?

[Canuck Park Hopper]

I'm not sure what you mean by "expansion" type bridges, but if you drive I-95 you will cross or see several "suspension" bridges. The Bronx Crosstown Expressway (I-95) will take you across the George Washington (once a world record span) and there are also the Delware Memorial spans. You could, if you detoured, also cross/use or view Ben Franklin, Betsy Ross (similar to Tobin), Francis Scott Key (or is that on the 95?) and numerous others.

The tunnel you are thinking of is likely in Baltimore.

[GAN]

You're referring to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. I think you'd have to go out of your way to cross that. Other than the ones already mentioned there really are none that come to mind -and those are not anything crazy.

[Scar]

Do you mean bridges with expansion joints? Because I'm pretty sure all bridges have expansion joints, and yes, you will go over many bridges.

And bridges don't go under water, they go over it. ;) As the other poster said, If you go I-95 there is one tunnel in Baltimore. It can be avoided with another route.

[Ms. Mode]

You're referring to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. I think you'd have to go out of your way to cross that. Other than the ones already mentioned there really are none that come to mind -and those are not anything crazy.

I've been in this tunnel before...it creaped me out cause we were UNDER the water. :blush:

[crazypoohbear]

thanks everyone
the bridges I was wondering about are the really really long bridges that seem to be a mile long and sway in the wind.
The tobin, Golden gate, GW are small potatoes to me.

I think the tunnel I am thinking of is in Baltimore.
As a child when we would drive through the
tunnel and my dad would tell us kids "check for leaks so I know to drive faster!"

[Scar]

There is also a long bridge on I-95 in South Carolina that goes over the Santee River, It's not very high though and doesn't sway. The Del Mem bridge would propably be the only one that might sway.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

as a child when we would drive through the
tunnel and my dad would tell us kids "check for leaks so i know to drive faster!"

lol!

[#1donaldfan]

yeah, the only one I can think of close to MD would be the Chesapeak Bay Bridge Tunnel...???

[PETE FROM NYC]

I don't know why driving thru a tunnel would make anybody nervous. For me living in NYC, tunnels are just a normal part of driving.

[joonyer]

thanks everyone
the bridges I was wondering about are the really really long bridges that seem to be a mile long and sway in the wind.
The tobin, Golden gate, GW are small potatoes to me.

I think the tunnel I am thinking of is in Baltimore.
As a child when we would drive through the
tunnel and my dad would tell us kids "check for leaks so I know to drive faster!"

If the Golden Gate Bridge is small potatoes to you, then you will not cross anything close to it on your way to Florida. The GG is the second longest suspension bridge in the US (only Verazzano Narrows (NY) is longer).

[wdwfansince75]

Okay, if I understand the original post, the questions are separate and distinct. To answer the first, there are several bridges. To get from MA to FL, you must cross the Hudson...first choice seems to be the GW birdge....although you can use the I-87 crossing, via the Tappan Zee Bridge (also named after some long forgotten governor). The TZ is a cantilever bridge.
Next, you must cross the Delaware...for 95, that is the Delaware Memorial Bridge...a suspension bridge....Then you need to cross either the Susquehanna river, via the Tidings Bridge on 95 (named afer another best forgotten governor), or, by detouring to 13/301 below Wilmington, cross the Chesepeake Bay Bridge above Annapolis....also allows you to avoid the either of the two Baltimore tunnels...If you do go through Baltimore, you must cross the Patapsco River. You can use either the original Harbor Tunnel, on 895, or the newer (and larger) Ft. McHenry tunnel, on 95....You can also use 695, and cross the Francis Scott Key bridge over the Patapsco River.

Then, you cross the Potomac River, using either the Cabin John Bridge, west of the city, on 495, or the replacement Woodrow Wilson Bridge, the more common route. Neither is a very long bridge, but you can take hours to cross on a bad day.

If the question was about draw bridges, the old Woodrow Wilson Bridge was a draw bridge. It, and the former drawbridge in Jacksonville were about the only draw bridges on the route...There was (is?) also a drawbridge on the northbound approach to the Francis Scott Key bridge on I-695.

The rest of the bridges and rivers heading south are not a major problem. The longest bridge south of DC is the bridge over Lake Marion.
For trivia nuts, the St. John's river, which you cross at Jacksonville, is claimed by Floridians as the only major river in the US that flows naturally from south to north.

And, finally, to try to answer OP's second question, I believe that you have described the Chesepeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, which connects the Eastern Shore of MD and VA with Virginia Beach. In the "old days", before the Ft. McHenry Tunnel, you did cross a short bridge shortly after passing through the Harbor Tunnel, but that doesn't seem to match the bridge-tunnel you described.

[faline]

Very impressive amount of information!

[azcavalier]

There are actually a couple of tunnels around the Norfolk/Va. Beach area that are NOT part of the Bay Bridge Tunnel.

The BBT is something like 17 miles long, so that's a long bridge, but it's not a suspension bridge, like the Golden Gate.

There are some good bridges down around Jacksonville, but nothing really big.

[wdwfansince75]

Very impressive amount of information!
The advantage of getting old is that you have been exposed exposed to a very impressive amount of information! ...the disavantage is forgetting names, passwords, PIN #'s, and where I left my glasses!

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

I don't know why driving thru a tunnel would make anybody nervous. For me living in NYC, tunnels are just a normal part of driving.

Pete, you probably didn't hear about the large part of the ceiling of the gazillion dollar tunnels etc that they built in MA that fell on a car and killed a woman a couple of years ago. The project was literally millions and millions of dollars over budget and then we found out that they cut tons of corners and used shoddy products. So driving under/through tunnels in Boston is really scary!

And I think the tunnel my sister was thinking of was definitely in the MD area. Not to be confused with the bridge we had to drive over in Okinawa that would flood all the time.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I was in Boston for work when that happened - it was a little freaky to say the least.

Different things bother different people - I remember taking a "scenic" trip to Disney and going through a tunnel that I thought was never going to end ... my clausterphobia started to kick in :(

[magicalmom]

I'm not sure of the reason for your questions - I'm assuming nerves? If you're thinking only of landmarks and adventures for the kids, you won't have to read any more of this post!

WDWFan gave you great info - a couple of other notions:

I'm assuming you're taking I-95? If so, you can bypass the Baltimore tunnels by going either east or west on I-695 (the Baltimore beltway). East is a bit shorter, but you'll cross the Key Bridge, quite a lot like the Deleware Memorial Br., but maybe higher above the water. It can sway some. The west side offers no bridges or tunnels. Either bypass add time and mileage to the trip.

The I-495 bridges around DC aren't bad - go west, and cross at Cabin John. The bridge there is now called the American Legion Bridge, so that's what the signs will say. The signs that say Cabin John now refer to a park and a parkway. Not what you want. The Legion Br. has Jersey walls on both sides, and not much view of the river below.

If you choose to take 13/301 by Annapolis, you can stay on it into northern VA, crossing the Potomac at the Gov. Nice Bridge, then jogging west and rejoining I-95 near Richmond. IIRC, the Nice Br. is only one lane in each direction, and can also back up. I generally feel that 495 is faster, unless there's something heinous going on.

Traffic info in DC area is at WTOP 103.5 FM, every ten minutes on the 8s.

Be sure to avoid rush hours on the DC Beltway! Also at evening rush, the stretch of I-95 from Springfield to Fredericksburg can become a parking lot. So you know, WTOP will refer to the Springfield interchange as The Mixing Bowl.

If memory serves, the Santee River Br. is more of a causeway, and the Jacksonvile Br is smaller that the DelMemBr or the Key.

You'll have to go waaaay out of your way to pass through either VA Beach or Norfolk, so no worries about the bridges and tunnels there.

I'm a white knuckle bridge driver, and have been able to manage all of these bridges - not to worry, have fun. Count on the pixie dust :mickey:

[crazypoohbear]

Thanks for all the replys everyone.
Just to clarify, I'm not nervous about going over bridges or under tunnels (well except the old callahan tunnel going into Logan airport)
I was just curious if we would be going through the tunnel that I remember going through with my dad, ("look for leaks, so I can drive faster!")
I want to do the same thing to my kids LOL
I also remember my mom driving over the Tappanzee bridge 42 years ago and telling us she almost got blown over because of high winds. (she was 7 months pregnant with child #8 and on her way to a funeral from MD to MA)

I also want to find a place named WILTS that I remember from childhood in Edgewood MD that had the best meatball subs! I know that it was still there 2 years ago.

[PopPhan]

If you were coming down US 50/301 you could cross the Bay Bridge (Chesapeake Bay Bridge / William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge) a 4.3 mile dual span connecting Maryland's Eastern Shore and Western Shore.

You would REALLY have to be using a "scenic" route to go across this one from your point of origin!