April 15, 1964: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Opens

April 15, 1964: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel opens, carrying U.S. Route 13 over, and under, the Chesapeake Bay, connecting Cape Charles, on the Delmarva Peninsula ("Del-mar-va": Delaware, Maryland and Virginia), with the resort city of Virginia Beach.

It is 17.6 miles long, and replaced a ferry service that had been operating since the 1930s. The company sold their ferry boats to the Delaware Bay Authority, which introduced the Cape May-Lewes Ferry service between New Jersey and Delaware.

Theoretically, the span saves people trying to get from the Northeast to the Hampton Roads area, including Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Virginia's 2 largest cities, 95 miles and an hour and a half of driving.

But this is misleading: For most of its run, from Falls Township, Pennsylvania between Trenton and Philadelphia, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, Route 13 is only 2 lanes, 1 in each direction. From 1964 to 1999, this included the Bridge-Tunnel. A 2nd span, carrying southbound traffic over 2 lanes, opened in 1999, leaving the original span to carry northbound traffic over 2 lanes.

In 1987, the span, often abbreviated to the CBBT, was officially named the Lucius J. Kellam Jr. Tunnel. Kellam (1911-1995) was the first Chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission, who got it built.

As of April 15, 2022, there have been 3 incidents involving ships crashing into the bridge, forcing temporary closures for repairs, in 1967, 1970 and 1972; and 16 incidents involving cars going off the bridge and into the water, including 1 death in 2017 and another in 2020.

There is a plan to build an additional span, to make it 4 lanes in each direction. This plan states that it is not expected to be completed before 2040.

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April 15, 1964 was a Wednesday. This was still early in the baseball season. The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox wouldn't open until the next day, against each other. Five games were played:

* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The game was tied 1-1 going to the bottom of the 8th, when Tony González hit a 3-run home run, making Jim Bunning a winner over Tracy Stallard.

Two days later, the Mets opened Shea Stadium. They went on to a horrible season. The Phillies went on to a great season, until the end, when a 10-game losing streak cost them the Pennant. In other words, the Phillies went 92-70, and their fans ended up feeling worse than those of the Mets, who finished 53-109.

* The Washington Senators beat the Los Angeles Angels, 6-4 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-4 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Bill Virdon drew a bases-loaded walk to win it in the bottom of the 12th inning. Roberto Clement and Willie Stargell each went 2-for-6. Ernie Banks went 2-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Bob Gibson outpitched Don Drysdale.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Braves, 10-8 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The Giants scored all 10 runs in the 3rd inning, including a home run by Willie Mays. The Braves got home runs by Eddie Mathews and Bob Bailey, while Hank Aaron went 2-for-3 with 2 walks.

The NBA Playoffs were between the Division Finals and the Finals. The Boston Celtics would beat the San Francisco Warriors in 5 games. The Stanley Cup Finals were underway, between Games 2 and 3, tied 1-1. The Toronto Maple Leafs would beat the Detroit Red Wings in 7 games.