The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday that the Build American Bureau (the Bureau) will provide up to $338.6 million to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel District to construct the Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel.
As a direct loan from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA), it will replace the current $338.6 million TIFIA loan provided to the district in November 2016. The loan provides a portion of the financing for a 5,700-foot tunnel that connects two southbound trestles of the existing bridge.
First opened in 1964, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel links Norfolk/Virginia Beach to Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The CBBT includes more than 12 miles of low-level trestle in each direction, two one-mile tunnels running beneath shipping channels, two bridges, almost two miles of causeway, four manmade islands, and over five miles of approach roads.
“The Bureau is pleased to support the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel project by refinancing the original loan to take advantage of lower interest rates,” said Build America Bureau Executive Director Morteza Farajian. “Today’s announcement will help the community save millions of dollars, address the economic harm caused by the pandemic, and keep important public works projects moving forward.”
The new loan, with a lower interest rate, would generate up to $57 million in savings over the life of the loan, which will mitigate the reduction in toll revenues and reinstate a capital expenditure program and routine rehabilitation projects that were postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic.