Lesner Bridge

Client: City of Virginia Beach

Construction Cost: $78.7M

Key Facts:

  • Recipient of 5 design awards
  • The new design used innovative construction materials, including stainless steel and low-chromium/low-carbon alloys, to extend design life
  • This bridge incorporated programmable LED lights which allows the City to change the appearance of the bridge at any time

GM2's Complex Bridge staff participated in the design of this project. Designed with the community in a theme of “Reflections of the Bay,” the Lesner Bridge is a new segmental concrete signature bridge for the City of Virginia Beach. The new twin eastbound and westbound bridges have 10 spans totaling a length of 1,575 feet each and carrying US 60 over the Lynnhaven Inlet. The new bridge provides an aesthetically pleasing gateway structure that enhances regional mobility.

The new bridge replaced the John A. Lesner Bridge, which was classified as structurally deficient and functionally obsolete due to its location in a highly corrosive coastal environment and the population growth experienced in Coastal Virginia. The new bridge provides a 45-foot vertical clearance above mean high water and a 150-foot horizontal clearance at the navigation channel. Each bridge has two 12-foot travel lanes, 10-foot and 6-foot shoulders, and a 10-foot multi-use pathway. The multiuse pathway is separated from the vehicular lanes by a railing, providing protection to pedestrians and bicyclists. The structures were designed with the capacity to add an additional travel lane in the future.