View source for Lesner Bridge

{{Infobox bridge
| bridge_name      = Lesner Bridge
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| image            = 
| image_size       = 
| alt              = 
| caption          = 
| official_name    = John A. Lesner Bridge
| other_name       = 
| carries          = {{jct|state=VA|US|60}}
| crosses          = [[Lynnhaven River]]
| locale           = [[Virginia Beach, Virginia]]
| owner            = City of [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach]]
}}

The '''Lesner Bridge''' in [[Virginia Beach]], [[Virginia]] connects the [[Chesapeake Bay|bay area]] to the Virginia Beach shore via Shore Drive ([[U.S. Route 60 in Virginia|U.S. Route&nbsp;60]]) — crossing the [[Lynnhaven River|Lynnhaven Inlet]] at the mouth the [[Chesapeake Bay]]. The bridge lies approximately three miles from the southern terminus of the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel]]. The first bridge in the same location, a draw-bridge, had been constructed in 1928,<ref name="name">{{cite web
  | title = What's in a name? – Lesner Bridge
  | publisher = The Virginian Pilot, Aaron Applegate, October 17, 2011
  | url = http://hamptonroads.com/2011/10/whats-name-lesner-bridge}}</ref>  replaced in 1958 by what are now the eastbound lanes of a dual span. Westbound lanes were constructed as a parallel span in 1967.

The Lesner Bridge was named after [[John A. Lesner]], a Democratic Virginia State Senator who had earlier represented [[Norfolk County, Virginia|Norfolk County]] and the [[Norfolk, Virginia|City of Norfolk]], beginning in 1908.<ref name="name"/>

In February 2016, a move was afoot, supported by the local newspaper, to rename the bridge in honor of US Navy Admiral [[Jeremiah Denton]] or change it to its commonly known name of Lynnhaven Inlet Bridge. Local residents and the Lesner family oppose the change and a public poll resulted in no support for the name change.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hieatt |first1=Kathy|title=The Lesner Bridge may get a new name. You can help.|url=http://pilotonline.com/news/government/local/the-lesner-bridge-may-get-a-new-name-you-can/article_89a91321-3047-5ca0-84c6-733ca00da165.html|accessdate=7 May 2016|work=[[The Virginian Pilot]]|date=15 January 2015}}</ref>

[[Stephen Mansfield]] wrote in the book "Princess Anne County and Virginia Beach, A Pictorial History," (page 151) that the General Assembly voted to name the bridge after State Senator John A. Lesner in recognition for his service on the State Highway Commission.

==Bridge replacement==
In 2014 the City of Virginia Beach began a project to replace the Lesner Bridge with expanded spans that each have two travel lanes and a {{convert|10|ft|m}} wide multi-use path. The new bridge will be capable of six total lanes in the future. Construction on the new westbound span started in June 2014, and was opened to traffic in November 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wavy.com/2016/11/10/westbound-span-of-lesner-bridge-to-open-friday/ |title=New westbound span of Lesner Bridge Now Open |last=Satchell |first=Emily |last2=Kelly |first2=Erin |date=10 November 2016 |website=[[WAVY-TV|WAVY.com]] |access-date=12 November 2016}}</ref>

In December 2016, eastbound traffic shifted to the new westbound bridge while the existing spans were demolished and construction began on the new eastbound bridge.

On December 12, 2018, the new Lesner Bridge was officially opened to the public.

==See also==
* {{Portal-inline|Transport}}
* {{Portal-inline|Engineering}}
* {{Portal-inline|Virginia}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Water Crossings in the Hampton Roads Region}}
{{coord|36|54|27.2|N|76|5|30.3|W|type:landmark|display=title}}

[[Category:Bridges completed in 1958]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1967]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Virginia]]
[[Category:U.S. Route 60]]
[[Category:Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Virginia Beach, Virginia]]


{{Virginia-bridge-struct-stub}}