CAPE CHARLES, Va. (AP) - A contract has been awarded for the construction of a new parallel tube to be added to the Thimble Shoal Channel Tunnel.
Media outlets report that the Dragados Team was awarded the project, which will begin in the fall of 2017. Construction of the new parallel tunnel at the Thimble Shoal Channel, one of two tunnels that make up the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel crossing, is expected to take about five years.
When construction begins, the Chesapeake Grill restaurant will close permanently. The Sea Gull Fishing Pier - which nearly 15,000 people visit per year - will also be closed and will undergo renovations. The pier will reopen to the public when the project is completed.
Once complete, the new Thimble Shoal Channel tube will carry two lanes of traffic southbound.
