THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 3, 1996 TAG: 9608030311
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CINDY CLAYTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GLOUCESTER POINT LENGTH: 88 lines
Politicians and residents, construction crews and dignitaries celebrated the opening of the new George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge Friday, but the crowd quieted briefly to honor one man who was absent.
``I would like to pause a moment in memory of Dennis O'Toole,'' Gov. George F. Allen said during his remarks to the crowd of about 200.
Heads immediately bowed and eyes closed in honor of O'Toole, a 25-year-old ironworker from Virginia Beach who was killed in June 1995 when he fell off a section of the new bridge into the Elizabeth River.
Allen looked over to the Coleman, the country's largest double-swing bridge, and called it a monument to the skill and hard work of O'Toole and hundreds of others who built it.
A plaque honoring O'Toole will be placed somewhere on the bridge in the near future, Allen told O'Toole's family.
``He was proud to be a part of the bridge project,'' Shawn O'Toole said of his eldest son. ``Of course . . . we wish he hadn't been now, but we're all really proud of him.''
The $103 million bridge was built in six ready-to-go sections at Norfolk International Terminals, then floated with barges and tugs 30 miles to the York River. In early May at the York, the old bridge was taken away on barges in six pieces and replaced with the new sections.
The nine-day replacement process made history as the first time on record that a bridge had been built in complete sections, then floated into place. The contractor, Tidewater Construction
Corp. of Virginia Beach, had 12 days to complete the assembly, but finished three days early.
The new bridge has the capacity to carry 30,000 cars a day.
The old Coleman, built to carry 15,000 cars across the York River each day, had become obsolete as its daily count increased to nearly 28,000.
Friday's celebration, hosted by VDOT and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, prompted Allen to tell the crowd that he was born in 1952, the year the original Coleman crossing was opened.
The span was named for the state's second highway commissioner. A former mayor of Williamsburg, George Coleman was primarily responsible for lobbying the General Assembly to establish a highway system, Allen said. He died in 1948.
Coleman's great-grandson, Robert Barlowe, and great-great-grandson, Christopher Barlowe, were on hand for the ceremony.
Christopher, 13, stood beside Allen in the right southbound lane of the new span and helped officials cut a red, white and blue ribbon.
As the ribbon fell, Allen picked it up with his boot, then lifted a highway sign from an easel and tossed it into a bright orange VDOT truck.
``Let's get the road open,'' Allen said, signaling officials to open the two remaining lanes of traffic. Once the bridge was cleared, crews opened the third and fourth lanes of the bridge and the span was declared complete.
As cars and trucks passed by in the left lane at 35 mph, one motorist yelled over to Allen.
``Stop the tolls!'' he cried out to Allen, who chuckled, then proceeded to shake some hands.
Beginning at 12:01 a.m. this morning, motorists began forking over the $2 one-way toll at the booth on the Gloucester side of the bridge.
Commuters enrolled in VDOT's FasToll program must pay 50 cents, and large trucks will pay $6 and $8 to cross the York.
Theresa Holland, a Gloucester resident, said she had already prepared for the toll by enrolling in the fast-toll program.
She couldn't see paying the higher rate, she said.
``If you live on this side, you should get a discounted rate,'' Holland said. ``Really, that's how it should be for the residents of the county.''
But Holland said she was pleased with the new crossing. She brought her son, Joshua, to the beach during the construction.
Friday, she said, she went out to the bridge for a different reason: ``I thought it would be educational for my son and for myself.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by HUY NGUYEN\The Virginian-Pilot
Gov. George Allen addressed a crowd of about 200 Friday in
Gloucester Point at the opening of the new span, the country's
largest double-swing bridge. He then helped cut the traditional
ribbon and told VDOT officials: ``Let's get the road open.''
Photo by HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Gov. George F. Allen picks up the ceremonial ribbon across the new
George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge Friday with the tip of his boot
before cutting it and officially opening the full span. He also
removed the sign that read, ``Right Lane Closed Until Aug. 2,
1996.''
KEYWORDS: COLEMAN BRIDGE DEDICATION GRAND OPENING by CNB