THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, July 1, 1994                   TAG: 9407010478
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                         LENGTH: Short :   31 lines

BRIDGE CLOSED

A drawbridge over the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal was closed to road traffic for 15 hours after high water reached a box containing electrical parts.

The Centerville Turnpike Bridge closed about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and opened 1:30 p.m. Thursday after city workers made repairs, said Henry Turner, the city's bridge superintendent.

While boaters got a nonstop ride through the bridge opening, motorists had to take alternate routes. Signs were posted to warn and reroute drivers.

Much of the extra traffic went to the already congested Great Bridge Bridge on Battlefield Boulevard and the Great Bridge Bypass. Both cross the canal to the west.

But aside from a few delays and annoyances, the shutdown didn't pose any serious problems.

Congestion was minimal, Turner said.

``I'm glad it wasn't Friday,'' he said. ``We would have had it bad then.''

The 41-year-old, two-lane bridge is one of eight movable bridges in Chesapeake. by CNB