1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Interstate 64 in Virginia
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In the U. S. state of Virginia, Interstate 64 runs east–west through the middle of the state from West Virginia to the Hampton Roads region, a total of 298 miles. It is notable for crossing the mouth of the harbor of Hampton Roads on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, I-64 enters Virginia as a four-lane divided highway, continuing its concurrency with U. S.60 through Covington into Lexington where the two routes split. From Lexington, I-64 then turns northward to Staunton overlapping Interstate 81 in the Shenandoah Valley. S, after Charlottesville, I-64 then turns more east-southeasterly and heads towards Richmond, passing through Fluvanna, Goochland and Louisa Counties. Hurricane gates are installed at eastbound Interstate 64 entrance and exit ramps from Exit 200 to Exit 273, to date, there has never been an activation of the contraflow system in any capacity. Once on the Southside, I-64 turns south through Norfolk, passing the eastern boundary of Naval Station Norfolk and Chambers Field, and the spur route supplying it, Interstate 564. It then becomes a six lane divided highway with a two lane roadway in the middle, which is used for HOV-traffic during morning and afternoon rush hours. After entering Chesapeake, I-64 actually turns west-southwesterly and it is actually at this point when the road stops being signed as either east or west and is only signed with its Beltway designation of Inner or Outer Loop. After interchanging with another of its routes, Interstate 464, I-64 then crosses the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River using the High Rise Bridge. Early studies and proposals of the Interregional Highway System, I-64 was to use the U. S. Route 250 alignment west of Richmond and this southern route was favored by Gov. J. Lindsay Almond Jr. and most members of the State Highway Commission. The decision was on hold for three years while the state continued planning for the piece of the US250 alignment from Richmond to Short Pump, which would be needed anyway to handle traffic. In 1961, U. S. Secretary of Commerce Luther Hodges rejected that plan and chose the present route, officially, the chosen route was considered more efficient. However, there is speculation that the decision involved back-room politics of the Kennedy administration, Interstate 64 has four auxiliary routes, all of which are in the Hampton Roads Area, Interstate 664, a bypass route serving Chesapeake, Suffolk, Newport News and Hampton. Interstate 564, a route serving Naval Station Norfolk. Interstate 264, a route serving the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Downtown Norfolk. Interstate 464, a route serving the western side of Chesapeake, Portsmouth. It connects I-64 in Chesapeake to I-264 in Norfolk, two segments on I-64 have been identified as candidates for widening, I-64 on the Virginia Peninsula from New Kent County to Newport News and I-64 in South Hampton Roads from the I-464/SR 168/U. S. 17 interchange in Chesapeake to the Bowers Hill Interchange in Suffolk, on the Peninsula, most of the I-64 corridor is a four lane roadway and is one of the most-traveled segments in the region, connecting the Hampton Roads Metro to the Greater Richmond region. The approved plan selected by VDOT and partners included the plan that added a general purpose lane in each direction by either expanding into the median or on the outside shoulder
3.
U.S. Route 60 in Virginia
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In contrast, through this section, the older US60 is mostly a rural two-lane road. There it curves south to run along the Atlantic Ocean shoreline to end near the end of the Virginia Beach resort strip. In Virginia, as a through-route, U. S.60 was largely replaced by Interstate 64, the latter is roughly parallel, although there is a separation of over 30 miles north and south between Lexington and Richmond. In South Hampton Roads, the roads also separate, I-64 became part of the circumferential Hampton Roads Beltway and looping far south and west of Norfolk, rather than reaching the Atlantic Ocean. At Lexington, the newer Interstate route swings north, concurrent with I-81 to Staunton where it turns east. The variation between the routes was due to terrain for the crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains. U. S.60 crosses at Whites Gap, I-64 uses Rockfish Gap, East of the Blue Ridge, the two pathways gradually converge, meeting again at Richmond. It was notorious for deadly crashes in the years before I-64 was completed, the newer I-64 uses Rockfish Gap, a lower elevation wind gap which was also selected for a vital railroad crossing by Virginias legendary 19th century state engineer, Claudius Crozet. East of the mountain, I-64 passes Charlottesville and has easy grades on its way to Richmond, from Lexington, US60 runs easterly across the Blue Ridge Mountains. The switchbacks and grades along the crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains still used by U. S.60 combine to form a very hilly, the 30 miles east of Lexington become virtually impassable by most vehicles during inclement weather, particularly snow and ice. A short distance east of Interstate 81, as it passes through Buena Vista, even leaving the city limits. The roadway has many switchbacks and on both the eastern and western slopes, with Whites Gap at the peak, after descending on the eastern side, travelers reach Amherst, where Route 60 intersects north–south U. S. Route 29. Continuing east, there is a shorter section of mountainous terrain before the road levels out somewhat into the rolling Piedmont region through the middle belt of the state. At Sprouses Corner in Buckingham County, north–south U. S. Route 15 is crossed and this is the last major intersection until reaching the outskirts of Richmond. The road is two lanes for most of its journey eastward from Lexington, but widens to four lanes in Powhatan Virginia, crossing into Chesterfield County, it intersects State Route 288, a semi-circumferential expressway around the southwestern quadrant of Metropolitan Richmond and becoming Midlothian Turnpike. East of VA-288, Route 60 continues a few miles into the community of Midlothian, U. S.60 in the Richmond area enters on Midlothian Turnpike. The road largely follows the path of the old Manchester Turnpike, nearby, remnants of the Chesterfield Railroad, first in Virginia can be seen just south of the current highway. Midlothian was the site of coal mines after about 1700, with product transported overland to Manchester which was Richmonds sister city south of the river, at Manchester, ships could dock in the navigable waters of the James River just east of the fall line
4.
Hampton Roads
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Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in Virginia and the surrounding metropolitan region in Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina, United States. The body of known as Hampton Roads is one of the worlds largest natural harbors. It incorporates the mouths of the Elizabeth River, Nansemond River, the land area includes a collection of cities, counties and towns on the Virginia Peninsula and in South Hampton Roads. Some of the areas further from the harbor may or may not be included as part of Hampton Roads. The Combined Statistical Area includes four counties in North Carolina, pushing the regional population to over 1.8 million residents. The area is steeped in 400 years of American history, with hundreds of historical sites, the harbor was the key to Hampton Roads growth, both on land and in water-related activities and events. While the harbor and its tributaries were important transportation conduits, at the time they presented obstacles to land-based commerce. Creating and maintaining adequate infrastructure has long been a major challenge, the term Hampton Roads is a centuries-old designation that originated when the region was a struggling English outpost nearly four hundred years ago. The origin of the two words is noteworthy, the word Hampton honors one of the founders of the Virginia Company of London and a great supporter of the colonization of Virginia, Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. The early administrative center of the new colony was known as Elizabeth Cittie, named for Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of King James I, the town at the center of Elizabeth Cittie became known as Hampton, and a nearby waterway was designated Hampton Creek. Other references to the Earl include the area to the north across the bay became known as Northampton. As with Hampton, both of these remain in use today. The term Roads indicates the safety of a port, as applied to a body of water, examples of other roadsteads are Castle Roads, in another of the Virginia Companys settlements, Bermuda, and Lahaina Roads, in Hawaii. In 1755, the Virginia General Assembly recorded the name Hampton Roads as the channel linking the James, Elizabeth, and Nansemond rivers with the Chesapeake Bay. Hampton Roads has become known as the worlds largest natural harbor, the U. S. Postal Service changed the areas postmark from Tidewater Virginia to Hampton Roads, Virginia beginning in 1983. While the borders of what locals call Hampton Roads may not perfectly align with the definition of the MSA, Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC MSA is a U. S. According to the 2010 Census, its population is 1,676,822, since a state constitutional change in 1871, all cities in Virginia are independent cities and they are not legally located in a county. The OMB considers these independent cities to be county-equivalents for the purpose of defining MSAs in Virginia, each MSA is listed by its counties, then cities, in alphabetical order and not by size
5.
Norfolk, Virginia
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Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2010 census, the population was 242,803, in 2015, Norfolk is located at the core of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, named for the large natural harbor of the same name located at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. It is one of nine cities and seven counties that constitute the Hampton Roads metro area, officially known as the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, the city is bordered to the west by the Elizabeth River and to the north by the Chesapeake Bay. It also shares borders with the independent cities of Chesapeake to its south. Norfolk is one of the oldest cities in Hampton Roads, and is considered to be the historic, urban, financial, the city has a long history as a strategic military and transportation point. The largest Navy base in the world, Naval Station Norfolk, is located in Norfolk along with one of NATOs two Strategic Command headquarters. As the city is bordered by multiple bodies of water, Norfolk has many miles of riverfront and bayfront property, including beaches on the Chesapeake Bay. It is linked to its neighbors by a network of Interstate highways, bridges, tunnels. In 1619, the Governor of the Virginia Colony, Sir George Yeardley incorporated four jurisdictions, termed citties and these formed the basis for colonial representative government in the newly minted House of Burgesses. What would become Norfolk was put under the Elizabeth Cittie incorporation, in 1634 King Charles I reorganized the colony into a system of shires. The former Elizabeth Cittie became Elizabeth City Shire, after persuading 105 people to settle in the colony, Adam Thoroughgood was granted a large land holding, through the head rights system, along the Lynnhaven River in 1636. When the South Hampton Roads portion of the shire was separated, one year later, it was split into two counties, Upper Norfolk and Lower Norfolk, chiefly on Thoroughgoods recommendation. This area of Virginia became known as the place of entrepreneurs, the House of Burgesses established the Towne of Lower Norfolk County in 1680. In 1691, a final county subdivision took place when Lower Norfolk County split to form Norfolk County, in 1730, a tobacco inspection site was located here. By 1775, Norfolk developed into what contemporary observers argued was the most prosperous city in Virginia and it was an important port for exporting goods to the British Isles and beyond. In part because of its merchants numerous trading ties with other parts of the British Empire, after fleeing the colonial capital of Williamsburg, Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor of Virginia, tried to reestablish control of the colony from Norfolk. Dunmore secured small victories at Norfolk but was forced into exile by the American rebels and his departure brought an end to more than 168 years of British colonial rule in Virginia. On New Years Day,1776, Lord Dunmores fleet of three ships shelled the city of Norfolk for more than eight hours, the damage from the shells and fires started by the British and spread by the patriots destroyed over 800 buildings, almost two-thirds of the city
6.
Hampton, Virginia
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Hampton is an independent city in Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 137,436, as one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Since consolidation in 1952, Hampton has included the former Elizabeth City County, in the 20th century, the area became the location of Langley Air Force Base, NASA Langley Research Center, and the Virginia Air and Space Center. Hampton features many miles of waterfront and beaches, for residents and visitors alike, the city features a wide array of business and industrial enterprises, retail and residential areas, and historical sites. Most recently, the new Peninsula Town Center development opened in May 2010 on the site of the former Coliseum Mall. Located in the adjacent to the Hampton Coliseum and the Convention Center. Development of new development and additional public facilities are underway at Buckroe Beach. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel on Interstate 64, expanded in the 1970s, the HRBT remains Virginias busiest and deepest such facility. In December 1606, three ships carrying men and boys left England on a mission sponsored by a proprietary company, headed by Captain Christopher Newport, they sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to North America. After a long voyage, they first landed at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay on the shore at a place they named Cape Henry. During the first few days of exploration, they identified the site of Old Point Comfort as a defensive location at the entrance to the body of water that became known as Hampton Roads. This is formed by the confluence of the Elizabeth, Nansemond, the latter is the longest river in Virginia. Slightly south, near the entrance to Hampton River, the colonists seized the Native American community of Kecoughtan under Virginias Governor, the colonists established their own small town, with a small Anglican church, on July 9,1610. This came to be known as part of Hampton, the area became part of Elizabeth Cittie in 1619, Elizabeth River Shire in 1634, and was included in Elizabeth City County when it was formed in 1643. By 1680, the settlement was known as Hampton, and it was incorporated as a town in 1705, in the latter part of August 1619, an English ship flying a Dutch flag, the White Lion, appeared off shore from Point Comfort. Its cargo included 20 plus Africans captured from the slave ship Sao Joao Bautista and these were the first Africans to come ashore on English-occupied land in what would become the United States. John Rolfe, the widower of Pocahontas, wrote in a letter that he was at Point Comfort, although these first Bantu men from Angola were considered indentured servants, their arrival marked the beginning of slavery in North America. Two of the first Africans to arrive at Old Point Comfort in 1619 were Antoney and their child, the first of African descent born in North America, was born baptized January 1624
7.
Virginia Department of Transportation
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The Virginia Department of Transportation is the agency of state government responsible for transportation in the state of Virginia in the United States. Headquartered at the Virginia Department of Highways Building in Downtown Richmond, VDOT is responsible for building, maintaining and it is overseen by the Commonwealth Transportation Board, which has the power to fund airports, seaports, rail and public transportation. VDOTs revised annual budget for Fiscal Year 2017 is $5.35 billion, VDOT has a workforce of about 7,500 full-time employees. Snow Removal- VDOT is responsible for removing snow along the roads of Virginia. VDOT operates and maintains, Roads- VDOTs largest responsibility is the maintenance of roads, filling potholes, storm drain cleaning, water drainage, guard rail replacement, bridge work, tree and trash removal, as well as the maintenance of signs and traffic lights. Smaller portions of the budget are directed to address the needs and requirements of service, support to other agencies, administration. VDOT provides the Virginia 511 service, which may be accessed by the 511 telephone number, in May 2012, VDOT introduced the Virginia 511 smartphone apps for Apple and Android devices. The Virginia 511 system provides traffic cameras, real-time road and traffic conditions, trip planning, weather information, drivers complained that people who needed to use the restroom would have nowhere to go. In January 2010, governor Bob McDonnell announced that he would all of the closed rest areas as part of his campaign promises. The state is using an adopt a rest stop program, pulling 3 million dollars from the maintenance fund. They all reopened on April 17,2010, spontaneous roadside memorials, often in the form of white crosses, Stars of David, bouquets of flowers, and photos of the dead, have been placed along roads at the scenes of fatal accidents. As of July 1,2003, Virginia law has banned these memorials, Transportation officials have deemed them a threat to the safety of motorists. Virginia law §33. 1-206.1 prohibits any person from installing a memorial on any highway controlled by the VDOT without a permit, VDOT will install a roadside memorial sign, normally for a period of two years. The sign may not deviate from the standard roadside memorial sign specifications, the cost must by paid by the person requesting the sign. Not everyone agrees with the new program, vowing to ignore the program, Del. Robert G. Marshall, whose son was killed in an auto accident along Interstate 81 in November 2001, said, This is the bureaucratization of love. I intend to put a cross up for my son, by marking an accident site, survivors create a living memory of this persons life, said Donna Schuurman, president of Association for Death Education and Counseling. Americans have swept the grieving process under the rug, and now its popping up in ways that few expected—and that some dont like. They provided drivers with a faster and more reliable travel option, buses, carpools, motorcycles and emergency vehicles will be able to use the HOT lanes for free while drivers with fewer than three occupants can use the HOT lanes by paying a toll
8.
Trestle bridge
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A trestle is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used both as stools and to support tables at banquets. A trestle bridge is a composed of a number of short spans supported by such frames. Since this type of bridge is called a trestle for short. Timber and iron trestles were used in the 19th century. In the 21st century, steel and sometimes concrete trestles are commonly used to bridge particularly deep valleys while timber trestles remain common in certain areas, many timber trestles were built in the 19th and early 20th centuries with the expectation that they would be temporary. Timber trestles were used to get the railroad to its destination, in the later 20th century, tools such as the earthmover made it cheaper to construct a high fill directly instead of first constructing a trestle from which to dump the fill. Timber trestles remain common in applications, most notably for bridge approaches crossing floodways. For the purposes of discharging material below, a coal trestle carried a dead-end track, one of the longest trestle spans created was for railroad traffic crossing the Great Salt Lake on the Lucin Cutoff in Utah. It was replaced by a causeway in the 1960s, and is now being salvaged for its timber. Many wooden roller coasters are built using design details similar to trestle bridges because it is so easy to make the roller coaster very high, since loads are well distributed through large portions of the structure it is also resilient to the stresses imposed. The structure also naturally leads to a certain redundancy, such wooden coasters, while limited in their path, possess a certain ride character that is appreciated by fans of the type. The Camas Prairie Railroad in northern Idaho utilized many timber trestles across the rolling Camas Prairie and in the major grade, the 1, 490-foot viaduct across Lawyers Canyon was the exception, constructed of steel and 287 feet in height. The floodway of the Bonnet Carré Spillway in St. Charles Parish, the trestles are owned by the Canadian National Railway and the Kansas City Southern Railroad. The trestles were completed in 1936, after construction of the Spillway, the trestles may be the longest wooden railroad trestles remaining in regular use in North America. These were all replaced by masonry viaducts, few timber trestles survived into the 20th century. Two that did, and which are still in use, cross the Afon Mawddach on the coast of Wales only a few miles apart, at Barmouth. The former, built in 1867, carries trains on the heavy rail Cambrian Coast Line travelling from England via Shrewsbury to the small towns on Cardigan Bay. It also carries a toll-path for pedestrians, trestles in cast- or wrought-iron were used during the 19th Century on the developing railway network in the United Kingdom
9.
Tunnel
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A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through the surrounding soil/earth/rock and enclosed except for entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube construction techniques rather than traditional tunnel boring methods, a tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. The central portions of a transit network are usually in tunnel. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers, utility tunnels are used for routing steam, chilled water, electrical power or telecommunication cables, as well as connecting buildings for convenient passage of people and equipment. Secret tunnels are built for military purposes, or by civilians for smuggling of weapons, contraband, special tunnels, such as wildlife crossings, are built to allow wildlife to cross human-made barriers safely. A tunnel is relatively long and narrow, the length is much greater than twice the diameter, although similar shorter excavations can be constructed. The definition of what constitutes a tunnel can vary widely from source to source, for example, the definition of a road tunnel in the United Kingdom is defined as a subsurface highway structure enclosed for a length of 150 metres or more. In the United States, the NFPA definition of a tunnel is An underground structure with a length greater than 23 m. The place where a road, railway, canal or watercourse passes under a footpath, cycleway, or another road or railway is most commonly called a bridge or, if passing under a canal, an aqueduct. Where it is important to stress that it is passing underneath, it may be called an underpass, a longer underpass containing a road, canal or railway is normally called a tunnel, whether or not it passes under another item of infrastructure. An underpass of any length under a river is usually called a tunnel. In the US, the term means an underground rapid transit system. Rail station platforms may be connected by tunnels or footbridges. Much of the technology of tunneling evolved from mining and military engineering. The etymology of the mining, military engineering, and civil engineering reveals these deep historic connections. A major tunnel project must start with an investigation of ground conditions by collecting samples from boreholes. An informed choice can then be made of machinery and methods for excavation and ground support, in planning the route, the horizontal and vertical alignments can be selected to make use of the best ground and water conditions. It is common practice to locate a tunnel deeper than otherwise would be required and this may be a particular concern in large-diameter tunnels
10.
Bridge
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A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles without closing the way underneath such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. There are many different designs that each serve a particular purpose, the Oxford English Dictionary traces the origin of the word bridge to an Old English word brycg, of the same meaning. The word can be traced back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰrēw-. The word for the game of the same name has a different origin. The first bridges made by humans were probably spans of cut wooden logs or planks and eventually stones, using a simple support, some early Americans used trees or bamboo poles to cross small caverns or wells to get from one place to another. Dating to the Greek Bronze Age, it is one of the oldest arch bridges still in existence, several intact arched stone bridges from the Hellenistic era can be found in the Peloponnese. The greatest bridge builders of antiquity were the ancient Romans, the Romans built arch bridges and aqueducts that could stand in conditions that would damage or destroy earlier designs. An example is the Alcántara Bridge, built over the river Tagus, the Romans also used cement, which reduced the variation of strength found in natural stone. One type of cement, called pozzolana, consisted of water, lime, sand, brick and mortar bridges were built after the Roman era, as the technology for cement was lost. In India, the Arthashastra treatise by Kautilya mentions the construction of dams, a Mauryan bridge near Girnar was surveyed by James Princep. The bridge was swept away during a flood, and later repaired by Puspagupta, the use of stronger bridges using plaited bamboo and iron chain was visible in India by about the 4th century. A number of bridges, both for military and commercial purposes, were constructed by the Mughal administration in India and this bridge is also historically significant as it is the worlds oldest open-spandrel stone segmental arch bridge. European segmental arch bridges date back to at least the Alconétar Bridge, rope bridges, a simple type of suspension bridge, were used by the Inca civilization in the Andes mountains of South America, just prior to European colonization in the 16th century. During the 18th century there were innovations in the design of timber bridges by Hans Ulrich Grubenmann, Johannes Grubenmann. The first book on bridge engineering was written by Hubert Gautier in 1716, a major breakthrough in bridge technology came with the erection of the Iron Bridge in Shropshire, England in 1779. It used cast iron for the first time as arches to cross the river Severn, with the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, truss systems of wrought iron were developed for larger bridges, but iron does not have the tensile strength to support large loads. With the advent of steel, which has a tensile strength, much larger bridges were built. In 1927 welding pioneer Stefan Bryła designed the first welded bridge in the world
11.
Virginia
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Virginia is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, as well as in the historic Southeast. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, the capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond, Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealths estimated population as of 2014 is over 8.3 million, the areas history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony, slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colonys early politics and plantation economy. Although the Commonwealth was under one-party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, the Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World. The state government was ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States in both 2005 and 2008 and it is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms. Virginias economy changed from agricultural to industrial during the 1960s and 1970s. Virginia has an area of 42,774.2 square miles, including 3,180.13 square miles of water. Virginias boundary with Maryland and Washington, D. C. extends to the mark of the south shore of the Potomac River. The southern border is defined as the 36° 30′ parallel north, the border with Tennessee was not settled until 1893, when their dispute was brought to the U. S. Supreme Court. The Chesapeake Bay separates the portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginias Eastern Shore. The bay was formed from the river valleys of the Susquehanna River. Many of Virginias rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James, the Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries of Chesapeake Bay, the Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic era. The region, known for its clay soil, includes the Southwest Mountains around Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a province of the Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the state. The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains and includes the Great Appalachian Valley, the region is carbonate rock based and includes Massanutten Mountain. The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the southwest corner of Virginia, in this region, rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin
12.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
13.
Phoebus, Virginia
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Phoebus was an incorporated town located in Elizabeth City County on the Virginia Peninsula in eastern Virginia. The town and county are both extinct, as they were consolidated by mutual consent with the independent city of Hampton in 1952, Phoebus is now an important historic neighborhood of Hampton and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Captain John Smith landed on a part of Phoebus known as Strawberry Banks on his first voyage up the James River in 1607. The area which became the Town of Phoebus was founded in 1609 as Mill Creek, it was located on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads, in 1634, the area became part of Elizabeth City Shire, one of the eight original shires of Virginia. Elizabeth City County was formed in 1643, english colonists soon built defensive fortifications at Old Point Comfort to protect the entrance to Hampton Roads. In 1830 the United States Army began construction there of Fort Monroe, during the American Civil War, numerous slaves escaped to Fort Monroe and Norfolk, which was occupied by Union forces from 1861. The US Army defined them as contraband, to prevent their being returned to slaveholders and they established facilities for the newly free slaves at the Fort Monroe Contraband Camp, located outside the fort. Officials contacted a local teacher, Mary S. Peake. She began by gathering people outside in Phoebus, under an oak tree. This is where the Emancipation Proclamation was read to numerous citizens in 1863, the American Missionary Association, whose leaders included both black and white ministers, hired her to teach and arranged for her to use the Brown Cottage. This is considered the start of Hampton University, a historically black college which the AMA founded during the war. Much of the Town of Phoebus was cultivated as Roseland Farm until 1871 and it was then divided into lots for sale and developed as Chesapeake City. The streets were named after prominent citizens, Mallory, Curry, Hope, Lancer, from the main line at Old Point Junction, tracks were extended easterly a distance of about 10 miles toward Fort Monroe. The tracks were completed about 9 miles to the town, which became Phoebus in December 1882, a passenger and freight station was opened, which the railroad designated as Phoebus. From Phoebus, an extension across Mill Creek to reach Fort Monroe required a 2, 800-foot-long trestle, at that time, passenger and freight facilities were also added. At Fort Monroe, the U. S. Army built connecting tracks, at Old Point Comfort, in addition to the Army base at Fort Monroe, the Hampton Branch served both the older Hygeia Hotel and the new Hotel Chamberlin, popular destinations for civilians. During the first half of the 20th century, excursion trains were operated to reach nearby Buckroe Beach, in 1952 by voter referendum, the residents of Elizabeth City County and the town of Phoebus agreed to consolidation with the independent city of Hampton, Virginia. Phoebus has a listed as an historic district on the National Register of Historic Places
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Fort Monroe
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Fort Monroe is a decommissioned military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula. Surrounded by a moat, the star fort is the largest stone fort ever built in the United States. During the initial exploration by the mission headed by Captain Christopher Newport in the earliest days of the Colony of Virginia, beginning by 1609, defensive fortifications were built at Old Point Comfort during Virginias first two centuries. The first was a wooden stockade named Fort Algernourne, however, the much more substantial facility of stone to become known as Fort Monroe were completed in 1834. The principal facility was named in honor of U. S. President James Monroe, throughout the American Civil War, although most of Virginia became part of the Confederate States of America, Fort Monroe remained in Union hands. It became notable as a historic and symbolic site of early freedom for former slaves under the provisions of contraband policies, for two years thereafter, the former Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, was imprisoned at the fort. His first months of confinement were spent in a cell of the fort walls that is now part of its Casemate Museum. In the 20th century, it housed the Coast Artillery School and later the United States Army Training, Fort Monroe was decommissioned on September 15,2011, and many of its functions were transferred to nearby Fort Eustis. Several re-use plans for Fort Monroe are under development in the Hampton community, on November 1,2011, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation to designate portions of Fort Monroe as a National Monument. This was the first time that President Obama exercised his authority under the Antiquities Act and it has a 332-slip marina and shallow water inlet access to Mill Creek, suitable for small watercraft. The land area where Fort Monroe is became part of Elizabeth Cittie in 1619, Elizabeth River Shire in 1634, on their initial exploration, they recognized the strategic importance of the site at Old Point Comfort for purposes of coastal defense. They initially built Fort Algernourne at the location of the present Fort Monroe and it is assumed to have been a triangular stockade, based on the fort at Jamestown. Other small forts known as Fort Henry and Fort Charles were built nearby in 1610, in the latter part of August 1619, a Dutch ship, the White Lion, appeared off the coast of Old Point Comfort. Its cargo included more than 30 Africans captured from the slave ship Sao Joao Bautista, traded for work and supplies from the English, they were the first Africans to come ashore on British-occupied land in what would become the United States. Although the Bantu Africans from Angola were considered indentured servants, their arrival is considered to mark the beginning of slavery in America, another fort, known only as the fort at Old Point Comfort was constructed in 1632. In 1728, Fort George was built on the site and its masonry walls were destroyed by a hurricane in 1749, but the wood buildings in the fort were used by a reduced force until at least 1775. In 1781, during the Siege of Yorktown, the French West Indian fleet established a battery on the ruins of Fort George, throughout the Colonial period, fortifications were manned at the location from time to time. Following the War of 1812, the United States realized the need to protect Hampton Roads, in March 1819, President James Monroe came up with a plan of building a network of coastal defenses
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Virginia Peninsula
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The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the Lower Peninsula to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the north, the Middle Peninsula and the Northern Neck and it is the site of historic Jamestown, founded in 1607 as the first English settlement in North America. Geographically located at the northwestern reaches, Charles City and New Kent counties are part of the Virginia Peninsula, in the 21st century, they are also considered part of the Richmond-Petersburg region. The rest of the Virginia Peninsula is all part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, the Hampton Roads MSA is the common name for the metropolitan area that surrounds the body of water of the same name. It is the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the Southeast and the 32nd largest in the United States, the land portion of Hampton Roads has been historically divided into two regions, the Virginia Peninsula or Peninsula on the north side, and South Hampton Roads on the south side. More recently, the boundaries of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area have expanded to include the two southernmost counties of the Middle Peninsula, across the York River from the Virginia Peninsula. Early in the 16th century, Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to see the Chesapeake Bay and they were searching for the Northwest Passage to India and the Orient. They named the now known as Virginia, as Ajacán. The Spanish succeeded in founding a settlement in the New World in 1565 at St. Augustine. It was the first founded by Europeans in what is now the United States and they established small Spanish outposts along the eastern coast into present-day Georgia and the Carolinas. The northern-most post was Santa Elena, from there Juan Pardo was commissioned to lead expeditions into the interior, founding Fort San Juan in 1567-1568 at the regional Mississippian culture chiefdom of Joara. Located in present-day western North Carolina, this was the first European settlement in the interior of North America, the first permanent English settlement in North America was established in 1607 at Jamestown. The first continuously occupied settlement was at Kecoughtan in Elizabeth City County what is now the City of Hampton, nearby, Fort Monroe, the countrys oldest military base still in use is located at Old Point Comfort. Old Point Comfort is also the site of the first landing of Africans in America, after declaring independence from Great Britain, Virginias first state capital was Williamsburg. Also, the battle of the American Revolution, the siege of Yorktown in 1781. At the outset of the Peninsula Campaign, the Battle of Hampton Roads between the first ironclad warships took place near the mouth of the James River off the tip of Warwick County. The 1862 Siege of Yorktown took place along the York River, finally, after a lengthy standoff, the largest Union Army of the war under General George B. As the region and Virginia rebuilt during Reconstruction, the Chesapeake, however, the tidal portion of the James River, while navigable from Hampton Roads to the fall line at Richmond, couldnt accommodate the deep drafts of collier ships
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Willoughby Spit
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Willoughby Spit is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States. It is bordered by water on three sides, the Chesapeake Bay to the north, Hampton Roads to the west, and Willoughby Bay to the south. The area known as Willoughby Spit takes its name from Thomas Willoughby, the Willoughby family, it is said, were quick to apply for an addendum to the original land grant, giving them ownership of the new property. Severe storms and hurricanes would continue to transform the contour of the coast, residents of colonial coastal Virginia were very much aware of the weather. To people who lived near the water and derived much of their livelihood from the sea, during a hurricane in 1749, the Chesapeake Bay rose 15 feet above normal, and a sand spit was washed up at Sewells Point. With the help of the Great Coastal Hurricane of 1806, Willoughby Spit was formed, over the course of the next centuries, general westward movement of sand was compounded by extensive erosion of the 7. 3-mile long beach of Willoughby Spit and the rest of Ocean View. Homes and businesses built too close to the water were routinely threatened by coastal storms, the City of Norfolk began implementing a beach nourishment construction project, which included the installation of breakwaters to try to reduce beach erosion and protect the shoreline. Since then, the coastline has been improved to provide more beach for recreation, the breakwaters are by no means a permanent fix and create problems of their own, influencing the movement of sand. The beaches and coastal areas are by nature unstable, after Hurricane Isabel pounded on the coast of Norfolk in late 2003, Norfolk had to replenish the shore with 428,000 cubic yards of sand, costing the city around $3.8 million. Despite the costs of maintaining the coastline, renewed growth around the area, the area of water now located between Sewells Point and Willoughby Spit is known as Willoughby Bay. A ferry service operated between Willoughby Spit and Old Point Comfort across the mouth of Hampton Roads until 1958, in that year, the first portion of the new Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel was completed. Today, the terminus of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, which was expanded to four lanes in the 1970s, is located at the tip of Willoughby Spit. After leaving the bridge-tunnel, Interstate 64, part of the Hampton Roads Beltway, crosses a portion of the spit. The entire area of South Hampton Roads was part of Elizabeth City Shire when it was formed in 1634, from this original shire, in 1636 New Norfolk County was formed, soon divided into Upper and Lower Norfolk counties. Lower Norfolk County was split in 1691 to form Princess Anne County, the Willoughby Spit area was to remain part of Norfolk County for over 225 years. In 1923 it and the rest of Ocean View area were annexed by the independent City of Norfolk, in 1910, Eugene Ely made aviation history when he successfully launched his Curtiss biplane from the deck of the cruiser U. S. S. Birmingham and landed on the beach at Ocean Views Willoughby Spit, Sewells Point Ocean View, Virginia Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk County, Virginia This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed. Willoughby Spit Civic League and Garden Club About Ocean View website Ocean View Scene Magazine website Ocean View Nickel Tour website Willoughby Spit website
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South Hampton Roads
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South Hampton Roads is a region located in the extreme southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States with a total population of 1,191,937. It is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA, Hampton Roads is the common name for the metropolitan area that surrounds the body of water of the same name. The land portion of Hampton Roads has been divided into two regions, South Hampton Roads on the south side, and the Virginia Peninsula on the north side. As of the 2010 Census, the Hampton Roads MSA is the fifth largest metropolitan area by size in the southeastern United States, South Hampton Roads is home to several United States military bases. Norfolk Naval Shipyard is located in Portsmouth, as are the Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, the shipyard was founded as the Gosport Shipyard on November 1,1767, and has the countrys first dry dock. The name was changed after the American Civil War, across the Elizabeth River, at Sewells Point near the mouth of Hampton Roads is the Norfolk Navy Base, the central hub of the United States Navys Atlantic Fleet. The base was founded in 1917, and is now the largest naval facility in the world, Virginia Beach is home to the U. S. Navys Naval Air Station Oceana and Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek. NAS Oceana is the largest employer in Virginia Beach, and both bases there, like the Norfolk Navy Base, are considered to be the largest of their kinds in the world. Furthermore, adjacent to Oceana is NAVSEA Dam Neck, Virginia Beach is also the home of Joint Expeditionary Base East, operated by the United States Navy, which is located at Cape Henry. St. Juliens Creek Annex is a U. S. Navy facility in Chesapeake on the Southern Branch Elizabeth River and it began operations in 1849 and occupies approximately 490 acres, including 407 acres of land,14 acres of marsh, and 69 acres of surface water. It is currently considered part of the Norfolk Navy Base, Chesapeake is also home to U. S. Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Fentress, an auxiliary landing facility for NAS Oceana. The decision to call the region Hampton Roads was a political one, the area was referred to as Tidewater for many years by the local residents. The local baseball team was called the Tidewater Tides for years but is now called the Norfolk Tides, when they first came to Tidewater, they adopted the local name to draw more fans. Some towns grew to become cities, under the state constitutional changes in 1871, extant and future cities in Virginia became independent cities of the counties they had formerly been located within. However, in the half of the 20th century, an unprecedented wave of city-county-town local government consolidations took place in South Hampton Roads. Nowhere else in Virginia have rural areas and more dense cities been combined in such a manner as these two areas, the changes resulted in the area having Virginias cities with the largest land areas and the most farming, even over 30 years after the consolidations in some instances. The South Hampton Roads region includes five independent cities, three counties, and five incorporated towns with a population of 1,191,937 people. There were also a number of subdivisions which are now extinct, primarily due to growth
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Hampton Roads Beltway
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The Hampton Roads Beltway crosses the harbor of Hampton Roads at two locations on large four-laned bridge-tunnel facilities. The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel carries Interstate 64 and the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel carries Interstate 664, the entire beltway, including the bridge-tunnels, is owned and operated by the Virginia Department of Transportation. Some proposals envisioned state and local and/or toll funding if necessary to achieve that goal, indeed, the first two-laned portion of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel was built with toll revenue bond funding in 1957 prior to the creation of I-64. It carried U. S. Route 60 and State Route 168 designations and it was a number of years before the newer I-664 portion was built. This completed the loop in 1992, in January,1997, a 56-mile -long I-64/I-664 loop was designated by the Virginia Department of Transportation as the Hampton Roads Beltway. The beltway has the clockwise direction signed as the Inner Loop, essentially, I-64 forms the eastern portion and I-664 the western portion of the beltway. There are indications that a highway crossing of Hampton Roads might be essential to avoid traffic gridlock in the near future. Already, miles-long backups are common on the approaches to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, HRTA was created in July,2007, with powers to raise revenue through a variety of specific local taxes and user fees, such as tolls. This Transportation Authority met strong resistance from voters and many in the General Assembly, with that ruling, the Transportation Authorities were deemed moot and powerless, and legislation was passed in 2008 to de-establish them. They never imposed any taxes or collected any money for transportation, I-664 begins at a full Y interchange with I-64 and I-264 that serves as the terminus of all three Interstates in the Bowers Hill section of the city of Chesapeake. I-64 heads southeast as a continuation of the Hampton Roads Beltway through Chesapeake while I-264 heads east toward Portsmouth, I-664 heads west as an eight-lane freeway that has a southbound-only exit ramp to US13 and US460 and crosses over Military Highway and a Norfolk Southern Railway rail line. The Interstate has a interchange with Military Highway, which here carries US58 in addition to US13. The interchange also provides access to US460 Alternate, which follows US58 east into Portsmouth, I-664 curves north as a four-lane freeway that crosses Goose Creek and has a diamond interchange with SR663 and a cloverleaf interchange with SR337. Just south of its cloverleaf interchange with SR659, I-664 crosses a rail line. The rail spur leaves the median and heads northeast toward Portsmouth just south of its interchange with SR164, SR164 heads east toward downtown Portsmouth while US17 heads northwest to the James River Bridge. North of SR135, northbound I-664 has an inspection station. The bridge-tunnel passes to the west of Craney Island, an island in the city of Portsmouth that lies to the west of the mouth of the Elizabeth River. West of the highway is the confluence of the James River and Nansemond River to form Hampton Roads, the Interstate resurfaces on another artificial island at Newport News Point east of the coal piers in the city of Newport News
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Toll bridge
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A toll bridge is a bridge over which traffic may pass upon payment of a toll, or fee. The practice of collecting tolls on bridges harks back to the days of ferry crossings where people paid a fee to be ferried across stretches of water, as boats became impractical to carry large loads, ferry operators looked for new sources of revenue. Having built a bridge, they hoped to recoup their investment by charging tolls for people, animals, vehicles, and goods to cross it. The original London Bridge across the river Thames opened as a toll bridge, using interest on its capital assets, the trust now owns and runs all seven central London bridges at no cost to taxpayers or users. In the United States, private ownership of toll bridges peaked in the mid-19th century, in some instances, a quasi-governmental authority was formed, and toll revenue bonds were issued to raise funds for construction and/or operation of the facility. Peters and Kramer observed that. little research has been done to quantify the impact of collection on society as a whole. And therefore they published an analysis of the Total Societal Cost associated with toll collection as a means of taxation. TSC is the sum of administrative, compliance, fuel and pollution costs, in 2000 they estimated it to be $56,914,732, or 37. 3% of revenue collected. Nakamura and Kockelman show that tolls are by nature regressive, shifting the burden of taxation disproportionately to the poor and middle classes. Electronic toll collection, branded under names such as EZ-Pass, SunPass, IPass, FasTrak, Treo, GoodToGo, electronic tolling proposals that represented the shadow price of electronic toll collection may have misled decision makers. Consumers have additionally endured an increased administrative burden associated with paying toll bills, additionally, visitors to a region may incur e-toll tag fees imposed by their rental car company. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 identified and attempted to address a problem associated with the government collection of information. Approvals were to be secured by government agencies before promulgating a paper form, website, however, the act did not anticipate and thus address the consumer burden associated with funding infrastructure via electronic toll collection instead of through more traditional forms of taxation. In some instances, tolls have been removed after retirement of the toll revenue bonds issued to raise funds for construction and/or operation of the facility, sometimes citizens revolt against toll plazas, as was the case in Jacksonville, Florida. Tolls were in place on four bridges crossing the St. Johns River and these tolls paid for the respective bridges as well as many other highway projects. As Jacksonville continued to grow, the tolls created bottlenecks on the roadway, in 1988, Jacksonville voters chose to eliminate all the toll booths and replace the revenue with a ½ cent sales tax increase. In 1989, the booths were removed,36 years after the first toll booth went up. In Scotland, the Scottish Parliament purchased the Skye Bridge from its owners in late 2004, in 2004, the German government cancelled a contract with the Toll Collect syndicate after much negative publicity
20.
Interstate Highway System
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The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways is a network of controlled-access highways that forms a part of the National Highway System of the United States. The system is named for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who championed its formation, construction was authorized by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, and the original portion was completed 35 years later, although some urban routes were cancelled and never built. The network has since been extended and, as of 2013, as of 2013, about one-quarter of all vehicle miles driven in the country use the Interstate system. In 2006, the cost of construction was estimated at about $425 billion, the nations revenue needs associated with World War I prevented any significant implementation of this policy, which expired in 1921. In the plan, Mehren proposed a 50, 000-mile system, the system would include two percent of all roads and would pass through every state at a cost of $25,000 per mile, providing commercial as well as military transport benefits. As the landmark 1916 law expired, new legislation was passed—the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 and this new road construction initiative once again provided for federal matching funds for road construction and improvement, $75 million allocated annually. The Bureau of Public Roads asked the Army to provide a list of roads that it considered necessary for national defense. A boom in construction followed throughout the decade of the 1920s. As automobile traffic increased, planners saw a need for such a national system to supplement the existing, largely non-freeway. By the late 1930s, planning had expanded to a system of new superhighways, in 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave Thomas MacDonald, chief at the Bureau of Public Roads, a hand-drawn map of the United States marked with eight superhighway corridors for study. He recognized that the system would also provide key ground transport routes for military supplies. The publication in 1955 of the General Location of National System of Interstate Highways, informally known as the Yellow Book, assisting in the planning was Charles Erwin Wilson, who was still head of General Motors when President Eisenhower selected him as Secretary of Defense in January 1953. The Interstate Highway System was authorized on June 29,1956 by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, popularly known as the National Interstate, three states have claimed the title of first Interstate Highway. Missouri claims that the first three contracts under the new program were signed in Missouri on August 2,1956, the first contract signed was for upgrading a section of US Route 66 to what is now designated Interstate 44. On August 13,1956, Missouri awarded the first contract based on new Interstate Highway funding, kansas claims that it was the first to start paving after the act was signed. Preliminary construction had taken place before the act was signed, the state marked its portion of I-70 as the first project in the United States completed under the provisions of the new Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The Pennsylvania Turnpike could also be considered one of the first Interstate Highways, on October 1,1940,162 miles of the highway now designated I‑70 and I‑76 opened between Irwin and Carlisle. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania refers to the turnpike as the Granddaddy of the Pikes, October 12,1979, The final section of the Canada to Mexico freeway Interstate 5 is dedicated near Stockton, California
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Interstate 64
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Interstate 64 is an Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U. S. Route 40 and its eastern terminus is at an interchange with I-264 and I-664 at Bowers Hill in Chesapeake, Virginia. At 953.74 miles, I-64 is the second longest interstate highway not ending with a 5 or 0, the Missouri Department of Transportation has completed extending I-64 to I-70 in Wentzville, Missouri. I-64 overlaps with I-55, I-57, I-75, I-77, I-81, I-64 does not maintain exit number continuity for any of the overlaps, as each of the six north-south routes maintain their exit numbering on their respective overlaps with I-64. This road is also the southernmost portion of the Avenue of the Saints, an interchange at Highway N OFallon, Missouri opened on December 13,2004. This interchange also accommodates the tie-in of the Missouri Route 364 freeway to I-64, in April 2007, construction started to rebuild 10.5 miles of I-64 in St. Louis, Missouri, from Spoede Road to Kingshighway. This project included repaving the road, rebuilding the overpasses and interchanges. Construction resulted in the closure of portions of the expressway in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, I-64 was closed from I-270 to I-170, re-opening December 15,2008, beginning December 15,2008, I-64 from I-170 to Kingshighway was closed. The portion of Interstate 64 in St. Louis has been named the Jack Buck Memorial Highway, I-64 enters Illinois from St. Louis, Missouri, via the Poplar Street Bridge, where it overlaps I-55 as it crosses the Mississippi River. After crossing the city of East St. Louis and the rest of suburban St. Clair County, shortly after passing Mid-America Airport at Exit 23, I-64 enters Clinton County, then Washington County. After providing access to such as Carlyle, Breese, Nashville, and Centralia. East of Mt. Vernon in Illinois, services along I-64 are few, the freeway crosses Jefferson, Wayne, and White counties as it progresses east toward Indiana and the Evansville area. East of the St Louis area, there are numerous oil wells dotting the landscape, the section from IL127 to I-57 opened on October 4,1974. The section from IL161 to IL127 opened in December 1973, the section in the Metro East, except for a short section near I-55/70, opened on December 23,1975. The section from US460 to US45 opened on August 7,1975, I-64 crosses the Wabash River and enters the state of Indiana. Near milepost 61, there is a change from Central Time Zone to Eastern Time Zone. As with all time zone changes on highways maintained by the Indiana Department of Transportation, the 123-mile route in Indiana can be described as being somewhat winding, especially the farther east one travels within the state
22.
Virginia State Route 168
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State Route 168 is a primary state highway in the South Hampton Roads region of the U. S. state of Virginia. It runs from the border with North Carolina through the independent cities of Chesapeake, SR168 consists of three sections with different characteristics. From I-64 north into downtown Norfolk, SR168 is a local road, SR168 was originally constructed in the 1930s on the north side of Hampton Roads as Merrimack Trail, mainly as a bypass of U. S. Route 60 from Newport News past Williamsburg. It was extended across Hampton Roads in the mid-1940s, but did not move onto its current alignment to North Carolina until 1957, as the new freeway opened past Williamsburg, SR168 was shifted to it, it was truncated to its current extent around 1980. The SR168 designation was applied in the 1933 renumbering to three roadways, State Route 529, State Route 532, and State Route 533. Another piece, from Hampton east on Pembroke Avenue towards Buckroe Beach, was added to the highway system in 1932. In the 1930s, SR168 was extended northwest to State Route 53 (now State Route 30 near Barhamsville and it intersected U. S. Route 60 at Andersons Corner, near Toano in James City County. Route 168 was part of a system of state-funded highway improvements after World War II which preceded the federally funded Interstate Highway System in Virginia, in Chesapeake, the route originally ran along Battlefield Boulevard. This arterial is now bypassed by several roads, the Chesapeake Expressway, the Great Bridge Bypass, from the north end of the Oak Grove Connector, Route 168 overlaps Interstate 64 until it rejoins Battlefield Boulevard. The sections of the boulevard bypassed by the roads are now designated State Route 168 Business. When it first opened to traffic on November 1,1957, the Route 168 signage and tolls were both removed when the crossing was expanded in 1976 as part of the federally funded Interstate 64 improvements, which included four-laning the crossing. Small portions of the roadway on the Peninsula originally signed at SR168 became portions of State Route 30 and Interstate 64. However, most of it from Exit 238 in I-64 east was redesignated as State Route 143, after Interstate 64 was completed on the Peninsula, both Routes 60 and 143 with many at-grade intersections and businesses became more major conduits for local traffic than through-traffic routes. Built to freeway standards, this expressway travels from U. S, the one toll plaza is located near Indian Creek Road. Construction began in 1999 and the fully opened in 2001. Tolls for a 2-axle passenger vehicle are now $8.00 during weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and $3.00 at all other times, State Route 168 Business is a 14. 40-mile business route of SR168. The entire length is known as Battlefield Boulevard. This was originally a part of SR168 before the Chesapeake Expressway was completed and this highway is often used to avoid the toll on the main expressway -- drivers travelling North make a left turn at VA168 Business, then enter the expressway at Hillcrest Parkway
23.
Chesapeake Bay
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It is the largest estuary in North America. With its northern portion in Maryland and the part in Virginia. More than 150 major rivers and streams flow into the bays 64, 299-square-mile drainage basin, the bay is approximately 200 miles long from its northern headwaters in the Susquehanna River to its outlet in the Atlantic Ocean. It is 2.8 miles wide at its narrowest and 30 miles at its widest, total shoreline including tributaries is 11,684 miles, circumnavigating a surface area of 4,479 square miles. Average depth is 21 feet, reaching a maximum of 174 feet, the bay is spanned twice, in Maryland by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from Sandy Point to Kent Island and in Virginia by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel connecting Virginia Beach to Cape Charles. Known for both its beauty and bounty, the bay became emptier, with crabs, oysters. Recent restoration efforts begun in the 1990s have been ongoing and show potential for growth of the oyster population. The health of the Chesapeake Bay improved in 2015, marking three years of gains over the past four years, according to a new report by the University of Maryland, the word Chesepiooc is an Algonquian word referring to a village at a big river. It is the seventh oldest surviving English place-name in the U. S. first applied as Chesepiook by explorers heading north from the Roanoke Colony into a Chesapeake tributary in 1585 or 1586. The name may refer to the Chesepian or Chesapeake people. They occupied an area which is now the Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, in 2005, Algonquian linguist Blair Rudes helped to dispel one of the areas most widely held beliefs, that Chesapeake means something like great shellfish bay. The name might actually have meant something like great water, or it might have just referred to a location at the bays mouth. In addition, the name is almost always prefixed by the in usage by local residents, The Chesapeake, The Chesapeake Bay, the Chesapeake Bay is an estuary to the North Atlantic, lying between the Delmarva Peninsula to the east and the North American mainland to the west. It is the ria, or drowned valley, of the Susquehanna River and it is not a fjord, because the Laurentide Ice Sheet never reached as far south as the northernmost point on the bay. The large rivers entering the bay from the west have broad mouths and are extensions of the ria for miles up the course of each river. The bay was formed starting about 10,000 years ago when rising sea levels at the end of the last ice age flooded the Susquehanna River valley. Parts of the bay, especially the Calvert County, Maryland and these cliffs, generally known as Calvert Cliffs, are famous for their fossils, especially fossilized shark teeth which are commonly found washed up on the beaches next to the cliffs. Scientists Cliffs is a community in Calvert County named for the desire to create a retreat for scientists when the community was founded in 1935
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Fort Wool
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Fort Wool was a seacoast fortification located in the mouth of Hampton Roads approximately one mile south of Fort Monroe. Originally named Castle Calhoun for the Secretary of War, John C, Calhoun, Fort Wool was built to maintain a crossfire with Fort Monroe, located directly across the channel, thereby protecting the entrance to the harbor. In 1902, as a result of the Endicott Boards findings, all of the fort, except 8 casemates, was demolished. The new armament mounted on five batteries of two to four guns remained in place for decades, although modifications were made from time to time, only six of the original three-inch guns remained in 1942, when two were sent to Fisherman Island. A modern battery of two new long-range six-inch guns was constructed on top of one of the old Endicott period batteries during World War II, the outmoded fort was finally abandoned by the military in 1953. Brigadier-general of engineers Simon Bernard was tasked by Secretary of War John C. Calhoun to create or improve fortifications for the protection of vital U. S. ports. Bernards plan was to more than forty new forts, including Fort Wool. The fort was to have three tiers of casemates and a parapet with a total of 232 muzzle-loading cannons mounted, and was to be manned by a garrison of 1,000 soldiers. It was to built on a 15 acre artificial island southeast of Old Point Comfort in Hampton, construction got underway in 1819 when crews started dumping granite boulders into the water. It took four years to bring the rock pile up to the a 6-foot tall island called for in the plans, a controversy soon arose over the stones purchased for the island.00 per perch awarded to Elijah Mix on July 25,1818 was fraudulent. Before awarding the contract, inquiries had been made at several quarries, the allegation was that the contract was awarded to Mix by General Joseph Swift of the War Department without advertising for bids. Two proposals were received before the contract was awarded to Mix, all four of these proposals came in with higher bids than the one Mix offered. Many knowledgeable men agreed that the government had made a deal. In 1819, the controversy increased when Mix assigned half his contract to Major Christopher Van Deventer, Major Van Deventer and Mix were married to the daughters of Major Samuel Cooper, a noted Revolutionary War officer. Van Deventer later sold half of his interest to his father-in-law, Major Cooper. Secretary of War Calhoun had advised him that while what was done was not illegal, General Swift deposed that he felt Major Van Deventer had no interest in the contract when it was originally negotiated. Major Cooper and Major Van Deventer sold their shares to Howes Goldsborough & Co. on July 1,1820, construction of the fort began in 1826, and after considerable delays caused by subsidence of the island, the first level of casemates was finally completed in 1830. Construction continued through 1834, and only half of the tier was completed
25.
American Civil War
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The American Civil War was an internal conflict fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states grouped together as the Confederate States of America, the Union won the war, which remains the bloodiest in U. S. history. Among the 34 U. S. states in February 1861, War broke out in April 1861 when Confederates attacked the U. S. fortress of Fort Sumter. The Confederacy grew to eleven states, it claimed two more states, the Indian Territory, and the southern portions of the western territories of Arizona. The Confederacy was never recognized by the United States government nor by any foreign country. The states that remained loyal, including border states where slavery was legal, were known as the Union or the North, the war ended with the surrender of all the Confederate armies and the dissolution of the Confederate government in the spring of 1865. The war had its origin in the issue of slavery. The Confederacy collapsed and 4 million slaves were freed, but before his inauguration, seven slave states with cotton-based economies formed the Confederacy. The first six to declare secession had the highest proportions of slaves in their populations, the first seven with state legislatures to resolve for secession included split majorities for unionists Douglas and Bell in Georgia with 51% and Louisiana with 55%. Alabama had voted 46% for those unionists, Mississippi with 40%, Florida with 38%, Texas with 25%, of these, only Texas held a referendum on secession. Eight remaining slave states continued to reject calls for secession, outgoing Democratic President James Buchanan and the incoming Republicans rejected secession as illegal. Lincolns March 4,1861 inaugural address declared that his administration would not initiate a civil war, speaking directly to the Southern States, he reaffirmed, I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists. I believe I have no right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. After Confederate forces seized numerous federal forts within territory claimed by the Confederacy, efforts at compromise failed, the Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on King Cotton that they would intervene, but none did, and none recognized the new Confederate States of America. Hostilities began on April 12,1861, when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, while in the Western Theater the Union made significant permanent gains, in the Eastern Theater, the battle was inconclusive in 1861–62. The autumn 1862 Confederate campaigns into Maryland and Kentucky failed, dissuading British intervention, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal. To the west, by summer 1862 the Union destroyed the Confederate river navy, then much of their western armies, the 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. In 1863, Robert E. Lees Confederate incursion north ended at the Battle of Gettysburg, Western successes led to Ulysses S. Grants command of all Union armies in 1864
26.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
27.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
28.
Park
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A park is an area of natural, semi-natural, or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of areas, rocks, soil, and trees. In North America, many parks have fields for playing such as soccer, baseball and football. Many parks have trails for walking, biking and other activities, some parks are built adjacent to bodies of water or watercourses and may comprise a beach or boat dock area. Often, the smallest parks are in areas, where a park may take up only a city block or less. Urban parks often have benches for sitting and may contain picnic tables, the largest parks can be vast natural areas of hundreds of thousands of square kilometres, with abundant wildlife and natural features such as mountains and rivers. In many large parks, camping in tents is allowed with a permit, many natural parks are protected by law, and users may have to follow restrictions. Large national and sub-national parks are typically overseen by a ranger or a park warden. Large parks may have areas for canoeing and hiking in the months and, in some northern hemisphere countries. The first parks were English deer parks, land set aside for hunting by royalty and they had walls or thick hedges around them to keep game animals in and people out. It was strictly forbidden for commoners to hunt animals in these deer parks and these game preserves evolved into landscaped parks set around mansions and country houses from the sixteenth century onwards. These may have served as hunting grounds but they also proclaimed the owners wealth, an aesthetic of landscape design began in these stately home parks where the natural landscape was enhanced by landscape architects such as Capability Brown. As cities became crowded, the hunting grounds became places for the public. With the Industrial revolution parks took on a new meaning as areas set aside to preserve a sense of nature in the cities, sporting activity came to be a major use for these urban parks. Areas of outstanding natural beauty were also set aside as national parks to prevent their being spoiled by uncontrolled development, in some parks or time periods with high pollen counts, parks tend to be avoided. Park design is influenced by the purpose and audience, as well as by the available land features. A park intended to provide recreation for children may include a playground, a park primarily intended for adults may feature walking paths and decorative landscaping. Specific features, such as riding trails, may be included to support specific activities, the design of a park may determine who is willing to use it
29.
Causeway
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In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway on top an embankment usually across a broad body of water or wetland. When first used, the word appeared in a such as causey way making clear its derivation from the earlier form causey. This word seems to have come from the source by two different routes. It derives ultimately, from the Latin for heel, calx, anciently, the construction was trodden down, one layer at a time, often by slaves or flocks of sheep. Today, this work is done by machines, the same technique would have been used for road embankments, raised river banks, sea banks and fortification earthworks. The second derivation route is simply the hard, trodden surface of a path, the name by this route came to be applied to a firmly-surfaced road. It is now little-used except in dialect and in the names of roads which were notable for their solidly-made surface. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica states causey, a mound or dam, which is derived, through the Norman-French caucie, from the late Latin via calciata, a road stamped firm with the feet. The word is comparable in both meanings with the French chaussée, from a form of which it reached English by way of Norman French. The French adjective, chaussée, carries the meaning of having given a hardened surface. As a noun chaussée is used on the one hand for a metalled carriageway, other languages have a noun with similar dual meaning. The Welsh is relevant here, as it also has a verb, sarnu, a transport corridor that is carried instead on a series of arches, perhaps approaching a bridge, is a viaduct. In the U. S. a short stretch of viaduct is called an overpass, some low causeways across shore waters become inaccessible when covered at high tide. The modern embankment may be constructed within a cofferdam, two parallel steel sheet pile or concrete retaining walls, anchored to each other with steel cables or rods. This construction may also serve as a dyke that keeps two bodies of water apart, such as bodies with a different water level on each side, or with water on one side. This may also be the purpose of a structure, the road providing a hardened crest for the dike. It also provides access for maintenance as well perhaps, as a public service, notable causeways include those that connect Singapore and Malaysia, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and Venice to the mainland, all of which carry roadways and railways. In the Netherlands there are a number of prominent dykes which also double as causeways, including the Afsluitdijk, Brouwersdam, in Louisiana, two very long bridges, called the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, stretch across Lake Pontchartrain for almost 38 km, making them the worlds longest bridges
30.
Naval Station Norfolk
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Naval Station Norfolk, is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia. It supports naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, the installation occupies about 4 miles of waterfront space and 11 miles of pier and wharf space of the Hampton Roads peninsula known as Sewells Point. Over 150,000 passengers and 264,000 tons of mail and cargo depart annually on Air Mobility Command aircraft, the area where the base is located was the site of the original 1907 Jamestown Exposition. In April 1917, not long after the United States entered World War I, a bill was passed for the purchase of the land, and money was set aside in the amount of $1.6 million for the development of the base. The Fifth Naval Headquarters was established along with the Naval Operating Base, by 1918, there were 34,000 enlisted men at the base. However, by the end, the base was reduced in personnel. New facilities were built including new runways for aircraft, part of NAS Norfolk and it also had ramps built to be used by seaplanes to be operated by the navy during the war. About 400 acres was acquired and by 1943, the air station had become an airfield for operations. Due to the expansion, it contributed to ending the war due to the training it provided to air units. On 1 January 1953, the name of the base was changed to Naval Station Norfolk after being known as the NOB. In 1968, the Naval Air Station was given a role in John F. Kennedys vision of putting a man on the moon. The air station became Recovery Control Center Atlantic, which provided command, control, due to the end of the Cold War. A drawdown began in the 1990s, and the navy began reducing shore installations to help with operating cost. Due to this, the navy merged the separate Naval Station and Naval Air Station into an installation to be called Naval Station Norfolk. Following the attack on the USS Cole and September 11,2001 terrorist attacks, the base had some major upgrades to its security gates costing more than $12.5 million. On 26 January 2017, NS Norfolk celebrated its centennial at the Pennsylvania House, Naval Station Norfolk is homeport for the USS Cole, which was the victim of an Al-Qaeda terrorist attack in October 2000 while it was harbored and being refueled in the port of Aden, Yemen. 17 American sailors were killed, and 39 were injured in the attack, the USS Cole remains in active service and remains homeported at Norfolk. On March 24,2014, a shooting at NS Norfolk resulted in the death of a sailor, the shooting occurred around 11,20 p. m. EST aboard the USS Mahan
31.
Drawbridge
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A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle and a number of towers, surrounded by a moat. Medieval castles were usually defended by a ditch or moat, crossed by wooden bridge, in early castles the bridge might be designed to be destroyed or removed in the event of an attack, but drawbridges became very common. It would be backed by one or more portcullises and gates, access to the bridge could be resisted with missiles from machicolations above or arrow slits in flanking towers. The bridge would be raised or lowered using ropes or chains attached to a windlass in a chamber in the gatehouse above the gate-passage, only a very light bridge could be raised in this way without any form of counterweight, so some form of bascule arrangement is normally found. The raising chains could themselves be attached to counterweights, in some cases, a portcullis provides the weight, as at Alnwick. In France, working drawbridges survive at a number of châteaux, in England, two working drawbridges remain in regular use at Helmingham Hall, which dates from the early sixteenth century. A bridge pivoted on central trunnions is called a turning bridge, the inner end carried counterweights enabling it to sink into a pit in the gate-passage, and when horizontal the bridge would often be supported by stout pegs inserted through the side walls. This was an arrangement, and many turning bridges were replaced with more advanced drawbridges. Bascule bridge Drawbridge mentality Portcullis Linkspan
32.
Thunderstorm
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Thunderstorms occur in association with a type of cloud known as a cumulonimbus. They are usually accompanied by winds, heavy rain, and sometimes snow, sleet, hail, or, in contrast. Thunderstorms may line up in a series or become a rainband, strong or severe thunderstorms, known as supercells, rotate as do cyclones. Thunderstorms result from the upward movement of warm, moist air. As the warm, moist air moves upward, it cools, condenses, as the rising air reaches its dew point temperature, water vapor condenses into water droplets or ice, reducing pressure locally within the thunderstorm cell. Any precipitation falls the long distance through the clouds towards the Earths surface, as the droplets fall, they collide with other droplets and become larger. Thunderstorms can form and develop in any location but most frequently within the mid-latitude. Thunderstorms are responsible for the development and formation of many weather phenomena. Thunderstorms, and the phenomena that occur along them, pose great hazards. Damage that results from thunderstorms is mainly inflicted by downburst winds, large hailstones, stronger thunderstorm cells are capable of producing tornadoes and waterspouts. There are four types of thunderstorms, single-cell, multi-cell cluster, multi-cell lines, supercell thunderstorms are the strongest and the most associated with severe weather phenomena. Mesoscale convective systems formed by vertical wind shear within the tropics and subtropics can be responsible for the development of hurricanes. Dry thunderstorms, with no precipitation, can cause the outbreak of wildfires from the heat generated from the lightning that accompanies them. Several means are used to study thunderstorms, weather radar, weather stations, past civilizations held various myths concerning thunderstorms and their development as late as the 18th century. Beyond the Earths atmosphere, thunderstorms have also observed on the planets of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune. Warm air has a lower density than air, so warmer air rises upwards. Clouds form as relatively warmer air, carrying moisture, rises within cooler air, the moist air rises, and, as it does so, it cools and some of the water vapor in that rising air condenses. If enough instability is present in the atmosphere, this process will continue long enough for cumulonimbus clouds to form and produce lightning, Meteorological indices such as convective available potential energy and the lifted index can be used to assist in determining potential upward vertical development of clouds
33.
Independence Day (United States)
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It declared that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation, the United States of America, and were no longer part of the British Empire. Independence Day is the National Day of the United States, Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration, finally approving it two days later on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail, The second day of July,1776, I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, adamss prediction was off by two days. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2,1776, although not a signer of the Declaration of Independence, James Monroe, another Founding Father who was elected as President, also died on July 4,1831. He was the third President in a row who died on the anniversary of independence, calvin Coolidge, the 30th President, was born on July 4,1872, so far he is the only U. S. President to have been born on Independence Day. In 1777 thirteen gunshots were fired in salute, once at morning and once again as evening fell, on July 4 in Bristol, ships in port were decked with red, white, and blue bunting. In 1778, from his headquarters at Ross Hall, near New Brunswick, New Jersey, General George Washington marked July 4 with a ration of rum for his soldiers. Across the Atlantic Ocean, ambassadors John Adams and Benjamin Franklin held a dinner for their fellow Americans in Paris, in 1779, July 4 fell on a Sunday. The holiday was celebrated on Monday, July 5, in 1781 the Massachusetts General Court became the first state legislature to recognize July 4 as a state celebration. In 1783, Moravians in Salem, North Carolina, held a celebration of July 4 with a music program assembled by Johann Friedrich Peter. This work was titled The Psalm of Joy and this is recognized as the first recorded celebration and is still celebrated there today. In 1870 the U. S. Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees, in 1938 Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday. Independence Day is a holiday marked by patriotic displays. Similar to other summer-themed events, Independence Day celebrations often take place outdoors, Independence Day is a federal holiday, so all non-essential federal institutions are closed on that day. Many politicians make it a point on day to appear at a public event to praise the nations heritage, laws, history, society. Families often celebrate Independence Day by hosting or attending a picnic or barbecue, many take advantage of the day off and, in some years, decorations are generally colored red, white, and blue, the colors of the American flag
34.
James River Bridge
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The James River Bridge is a four-lane divided highway lift bridge across the James River in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Owned and operated by the Virginia Department of Transportation, it carries U. S. Route 17, US258, and State Route 32 across the river near its mouth at Hampton Roads. The bridge connects Newport News on the Virginia Peninsula with Isle of Wight County in the South Hampton Roads region, when completed in 1928, the 4. 5-mile bridge was the longest bridge in the world over water. The original two-lane bridge was replaced from 1975 to 1982 with a wider bridge that could handle increased traffic volumes. In 2005, the bridge carried an average daily traffic of about 30,000 vehicles per day. At the Newport News end, traffic approaches the bridge at a partial cloverleaf interchange. After an intersection with River Road and the entrance to Huntington Park, the four-lane divided bridge begins, lying to the southeast a part of the old bridge that remains as a fishing pier. The 126.5 m lift span over the shipping channel and this allows ocean-going ships to pass en route to civilian port facilities in Hopewell and at the Port of Richmond. The nearest upstream crossing of the James River is the Jamestown Ferry, when the bridge opened in 1928, the next bridge upstream was the 1913 Mayo Bridge in Richmond. Downstream, both crossings of Hampton Roads are bridge-tunnels for military reasons, the 1992 Monitor-Merrimac Bridge-Tunnel and 1957 Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, bicycles, mopeds, and pedestrians are banned from using the bridge, the easternmost crossing for them is the Jamestown Ferry, about 25 miles upstream. The State Highway and Transportation Commission banned these transportation modes from using the bridge in 1978 in the interest of safety, due to high traffic and lack of sidewalks. Once the replacement bridge was completed, they returned to the question in 1983, on the Newport News end, the bridge simply ended at an intersection with State Route 39/U. S. However, a system of approach roads, including two smaller toll bridges, was built on the Isle of Wight County side. The end of the approach road was at the current intersection of Bennetts Pasture Road and Lee Farm Lane. Drivers could now choose to cross Hampton Roads on a bridge rather than one of many ferries. The new bridge was narrow by current standards, with a 20-foot roadway from curb to curb, the main lift span was 300 feet long, the other two bridges included 110-foot bascule spans. From 1928 to 1931, State Route 503, a highway from Portsmouth via Churchland. U. S. Route 17 was moved onto this alignment by 1932, State Route 258, now part of U. S. Route 258, was extended over the Benns Church approach and bridge by late 1943 to reach the new Mercury Boulevard
35.
Pileup
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A multiple vehicle collision is a road traffic accident involving many vehicles. Generally occurring on high-capacity and high-speed routes such as freeways, they are one of the deadliest forms of traffic accidents, the most disastrous pile-ups have involved more than a hundred vehicles. Pile-ups generally occur in low-visibility conditions as drivers on freeways are sometimes caught out by driving too close to the vehicle in front and not adjusting to the road conditions. Chain-reaction crashes can also occur in conditions of visibility, when black ice or other road hazards are encountered unexpectedly as drivers round a curve or crest a hill. Another possibility is a vehicle is simply too close to the initial collision to avoid hitting one or both of the vehicles. Due to the high speeds on the road, if one car develops a problem and suddenly halts. Determining the cause of accidents is difficult for investigators and it is often impossible to tell if negligence caused the crash. In spite of their frequency, little research has been done in the United States regarding their cause or causes. Multiple-vehicle collisions are particularly deadly as the mass of crumpled vehicles makes escape for survivors difficult, even if survivors are able to exit their vehicles, other cars may strike them. Collisions after the collision may occur from the side of the vehicle. A fire in one part of the accident can quickly spread via spilled gasoline, multiple-vehicle collisions can also overwhelm local firefighting, ambulance, and police services making speedy rescues more difficult. If the accident takes place in an area, getting medical help to the scene can be a daunting task. The destruction and intense heat of fires can also damage roadways, the structural steel of bridges and overpasses can also be weakened by the heat. A fiery pileup inside a tunnel is the most serious, as there is little means to escape the poisonous fumes, the large scale of these accidents can close important highway routes for several days, or even longer if highway support structures are damaged. Multiple vehicle collisions can occur in the courses used in motorsports as well. Reporters and fans apply subjective guidelines as to what needs to be crossed before a simple on-track incident can be described as such. NASCAR fans, for example, talk about the Big One, where many cars can be or are involved in a wreck while running close together
36.
Traffic congestion
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Traffic congestion is a condition on transport networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction between vehicles slows the speed of the stream, this results in some congestion. As demand approaches the capacity of a road, extreme traffic congestion sets in, when vehicles are fully stopped for periods of time, this is colloquially known as a traffic jam or traffic snarl-up. Traffic congestion can lead to becoming frustrated and engaging in road rage. Mathematically, congestion is usually looked at as the number of vehicles that pass through a point in a window of time, Congestion flow lends itself to principles of fluid dynamics. Traffic congestion occurs when a volume of traffic or modal split generates demand for greater than the available street capacity. About half of U. S. traffic congestion is recurring, Traffic research still cannot fully predict under which conditions a traffic jam may suddenly occur. It has been found that individual incidents may cause ripple effects which then spread out and create a traffic jam when, otherwise. Some traffic engineers have attempted to apply the rules of fluid dynamics to traffic flow, Traffic scientists liken such a situation to the sudden freezing of supercooled fluid. However, unlike a fluid, traffic flow is affected by signals or other events at junctions that periodically affect the smooth flow of traffic. Alternative mathematical theories exist, such as Boris Kerners three-phase traffic theory, because of the poor correlation of theoretical models to actual observed traffic flows, transportation planners and highway engineers attempt to forecast traffic flow using empirical models. These models are typically calibrated by measuring actual traffic flows on the links in the network. That discovery enabled the team to solve traffic-jam equations that were first theorized in the 1950s, congested roads can be seen as an example of the tragedy of the commons. Privatization of highways and road pricing have both proposed as measures that may reduce congestion through economic incentives and disincentives. Congestion can also happen due to non-recurring highway incidents, such as a crash or roadworks, economist Anthony Downs argues that rush hour traffic congestion is inevitable because of the benefits of having a relatively standard work day. In a capitalist economy, goods can be allocated either by pricing or by queueing and they determined that the number of vehicle-kilometers traveled increases in direct proportion to the available lane-kilometers of roadways. The implication is that new roads and widening existing ones only results in additional traffic that continues to rise until peak congestion returns to the previous level
37.
Interstate 664
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Interstate 664 is an intrastate auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U. S. state of Virginia. The Interstate runs 20.79 miles from I-64 and I-264 in Chesapeake north to I-64 in Hampton, I-664 forms the west side of the Hampton Roads Beltway, a circumferential highway serving the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Interstate crosses Hampton Roads via the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel between Suffolk and Newport News, I-664 is connected to the other major cities of the metropolitan area—Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach—by I-264. The Interstate also has a connection to Portsmouth through Virginia State Route 164 and to Suffolk via U. S. Route 13, US58, and US460. I-664 begins at a full Y interchange with I-64 and I-264 that serves as the terminus of all three Interstates in the Bowers Hill section of the city of Chesapeake. I-64 heads southeast as a continuation of the Hampton Roads Beltway through Chesapeake while I-264 heads east toward Portsmouth, I-664 heads west as an eight-lane freeway that has a southbound-only exit ramp to US13 and US460 and crosses over Military Highway and a Norfolk Southern Railway rail line. The Interstate has a interchange with Military Highway, which here carries US58 in addition to US13. The interchange also provides access to US460 Alternate, which follows US58 east into Portsmouth, I-664 curves north as a four-lane freeway that crosses Goose Creek and has a diamond interchange with SR663 and a cloverleaf interchange with SR337. Just south of its cloverleaf interchange with SR659, I-664 crosses a rail line. The rail spur leaves the median and heads northeast toward Portsmouth just south of its interchange with SR164, SR164 heads east toward downtown Portsmouth while US17 heads northwest to the James River Bridge. North of SR135, northbound I-664 has an inspection station. The bridge-tunnel passes to the west of Craney Island, an island in the city of Portsmouth that lies to the west of the mouth of the Elizabeth River. West of the highway is the confluence of the James River and Nansemond River to form Hampton Roads, the Interstate resurfaces on another artificial island at Newport News Point east of the coal piers in the city of Newport News. I-664 has a vehicle inspection station adjacent to its first interchange in Newport News. The Interstate parallels the end of CSXs Peninsula Subdivision as it passes through interchanges with several streets to the east of downtown Newport News. The southern interchange has ramps to and from 25th, 26th, and 27th streets, the northern interchange has ramps to and from 35th Street and Jefferson Avenue, Jefferson Avenue is SR143, which is also unmarked from the Interstate. I-664 curves east as a six-lane freeway away from the railroad and has a crossing of SR351 prior to half-diamond interchanges with Roanoke Avenue. The Interstate enters the city of Hampton and has interchanges with Aberdeen Road
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Gridlock
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Gridlock is a type of traffic jam where continuous queues of vehicles block an entire network of intersecting streets, bringing traffic in all directions to a complete standstill. The term gridlock is also used to describe high traffic congestion with minimal flow. By extension, the term has been applied to situations in other fields where flow is stalled by excess demand, the traditional form of gridlock is caused by traffic heading in one direction across an intersection. This traffic is stopped, by sometimes too much capacity for the roadway or an accident. The drivers in the other direction then go into the blocked intersection trying to get through, in many jurisdictions, drivers are prohibited from entering an intersection at a green light if there is no room for them to clear the intersection. If drivers follow this rule of the road, gridlock will be prevented, one method of reducing gridlock is to aggressively enforce penalties for vehicles that block intersections. Another type of gridlock can occur during traffic surges between highway on-ramps and off-ramps located within a mile of each other. Traffic exiting the highway may back up and block the entering vehicles, Gridlock is sometimes cited as an example of the prisoners dilemma. In New York City, drivers who block the box are subject to a violation that comes with a US$90.00 penalty. In Virginia Beach, Virginia, roads around the oceanfront feature signs at every intersection stating Dont Block the Box, in Austin, Texas, a Dont Block the Box initiative began in 2015. The obvious impacts are driver frustration and trip delay, noise pollution can be aggravated by excessive starting and stopping noise of gridlocked facilities. To make a traffic system less susceptible to gridlock, a metering system can be introduced. These systems determine the number of vehicles allowed in a traffic system. This can be done with control devices, such as traffic lights or warning signs. This type of system is used in Zurich, Switzerland, according to the New York Times the word gridlock was coined in New York City in the early 1970s. The first appearances of gridlock in newspapers occurred during the 1980 New York City transit strike, the word is attributed to Sam Schwartz, who was then the chief traffic engineer for the New York City Department of Transportation at the time of the strike. Schwartz said the word gridlock was used internally in his department during the 1970s and his colleague gave the plan the thumbs-down, worrying that it would simply lock up the grid. Schwartz was always struck by that image and titled his 1980 memo Gridlock Prevention Plan. The event was caused by a combination of works and thousands of coal trucks from Inner Mongolia’s coalfields that travel daily to Beijing
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Emergency evacuation
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Emergency evacuation is the urgent immediate egress or escape of people away from an area that contains an imminent threat, an on-going threat or a hazard to lives or property. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a due to a storm or fire to the large scale evacuation of a city because of a flood. In situations involving hazardous materials or possible contamination, evacuees may be decontaminated prior to being transported out of the contaminated area, a benchmark evacuation time for different hazards and conditions is established. These benchmarks can be established through using best practices, regulations, or using simulations, such as modeling the flow of people in a building, proper planning will use multiple exits, contra-flow lanes, and special technologies to ensure full, fast and complete evacuation. Regulations such as building codes can be used to reduce the possibility of panic by allowing individuals to process the need to self-evacuate without causing alarm, proper planning will implement an all-hazards approach so that plans can be reused for multiple hazards that could exist. The particular phases are different for different objects, e. g. for ships a distinction between assembly and embarkation is made and these are separate from each other. The decision whether to enter the boats or rafts is thus usually made after assembly is completed, the strategy of individuals in evacuating buildings was investigated by John Abrahams in 1994. The independent variables were the complexity of the building and the movement ability of the individuals, with increasing complexity and decreasing motion ability, the strategy changes from fast egress, through slow egress and move to safe place inside building, to stay in place and wait for help. The last strategy is the notion of using a designated Safe Haven on the floor and this is a section of the building that is reinforced to protect against specific hazards, such as fire, smoke or structural collapse. Some hazards may have Safe Havens on each floor, while a hazard such as a tornado, typically persons with limited mobility are requested to report to a Safe Haven for rescue by first responders. In most buildings, the Safe Haven will be in the stairwell, the most common equipment in buildings to facilitate emergency evacuations are fire alarms, exit signs, and emergency lights. Some structures need special emergency exits or fire escapes to ensure the availability of alternative escape paths, commercial passenger vehicles such as buses, boats, and aircraft also often have evacuation lighting and signage, and in some cases windows or extra doors that function as emergency exits. Commercial emergency aircraft evacuation is also facilitated by evacuation slides and pre-flight safety briefings, military aircraft are often equipped with ejection seats or parachutes. Water vessels and commercial aircraft fly over water are equipped with personal flotation devices. The evacuation of districts is part of disaster management, many of the largest evacuations have been in the face of war-time military attacks. Modern large scale evacuations are usually the result of natural disasters, the largest peace-time evacuations in the United States to date occurred during Hurricane Gustav and the category-5 Hurricane Rita in a scare one month after the flood-deaths of Hurricane Katrina. Despite mandatory evacuation orders, many people did not leave New Orleans, United States, even after the city was flooded and uninhabitable, some people still refused to leave their homes. The longer a person has lived in an area, the less likely they are to evacuate
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Tropical cyclone
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Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by names such as hurricane, typhoon /taɪˈfuːn/, tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression, and simply cyclone. A hurricane is a storm that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean, a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, Tropical cyclones typically form over large bodies of relatively warm water. They derive their energy through the evaporation of water from the ocean surface and this energy source differs from that of mid-latitude cyclonic storms, such as noreasters and European windstorms, which are fueled primarily by horizontal temperature contrasts. The strong rotating winds of a tropical cyclone are a result of the conservation of momentum imparted by the Earths rotation as air flows inwards toward the axis of rotation. As a result, they form within 5° of the equator. Tropical cyclones are typically between 100 and 2,000 km in diameter, Tropical refers to the geographical origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively over tropical seas. Cyclone refers to their nature, with wind blowing counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. The opposite direction of circulation is due to the Coriolis effect, in addition to strong winds and rain, tropical cyclones are capable of generating high waves, damaging storm surge, and tornadoes. They typically weaken rapidly over land where they are cut off from their energy source. For this reason, coastal regions are vulnerable to damage from a tropical cyclone as compared to inland regions. Heavy rains, however, can cause significant flooding inland, though their effects on human populations are often devastating, tropical cyclones can relieve drought conditions. They also carry heat away from the tropics and transport it toward temperate latitudes. Tropical cyclones are areas of low pressure in the troposphere. On Earth, the pressures recorded at the centers of tropical cyclones are among the lowest ever observed at sea level, the environment near the center of tropical cyclones is warmer than the surroundings at all altitudes, thus they are characterized as warm core systems. The near-surface wind field of a cyclone is characterized by air rotating rapidly around a center of circulation while also flowing radially inwards. At the outer edge of the storm, air may be nearly calm, however, due to the Earths rotation, as air flows radially inward, it begins to rotate cyclonically in order to conserve angular momentum. At an inner radius, air begins to ascend to the top of the troposphere and this radius is typically coincident with the inner radius of the eyewall, and has the strongest near-surface winds of the storm, consequently, it is known as the radius of maximum winds. Once aloft, air flows away from the center, producing a shield of cirrus clouds
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Hurricane evacuation
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A hurricane evacuation route is a highway in the United States that is a specified route for hurricane evacuation. Along the Gulf Coast, hurricane evacuation routes lead north and west for up to hundreds of miles to the safest major city, along the Atlantic Coast, routes lead west. They are marked with signs that point in the correct direction. In some cases, traffic may still be backed up, bumper-to-bumper
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Virginia State Police
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The agency originated out of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles as an inspector and enforcer of highway laws. It is currently one of fourteen agencies within the Cabinet Secretariat of Public Safety, the Secretary of the Commonwealth continued to be responsible for this regulation. The burden of enforcement remained with Sheriffs and Constables in counties and police officers in the cities, in 1919 the Motor Vehicle Act was passed, creating the first title laws for Virginia motor vehicle owners. In 1932 inspectors became empowered to enforce criminal codes, as well as motor vehicle codes, in doing so legislators created a state enforcement group with the power to arrest anywhere in Virginia. A mobile enforcement agency was now ready for duty wherever civil strife or emergency conditions might exist that would warrant police personnel to ensure peace and it was at this time that inspectors began to be known as Troopers. On November 3,1938, an order from Majors Bishop. The purpose of this was to identify members of the Division of Motor Vehicles performing the role of inspector. On March 14,1942, the General Assembly abolished the existing Division of Motor Vehicles, the act called for a position of superintendent for the State Police and a commissioner for the Division of Motor Vehicles. Major C. W. Woodson Jr. was officially appointed as superintendent for the State Police, training is divided into 4 phases, Phase 1,2 1/2 weeks of training mainly focusing on firearms, defensive tactics and basic law. Phase 2, Probate phase, probates are assigned to an FTO for a minimum of 4 weeks, during this phase probates are exposed to the daily activities and duties of a Virginia State Trooper. Phase 3, This training phase consists of 26 weeks, Phase 4, During this phase new troopers are assigned to an FTO for 6 to 8 weeks. Starting in 2017 Phase 2 will no longer be a part of the training and it will be 29 weeks straight at the academy and then new troopers will be assigned to an FTO for 6 to 8 weeks. The Department of State Police is primarily divided into three bureaus, Bureau of Field Operations, Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and Bureau of Administrative and Support Services. Department of State Police Bureaus Divisions Areas The standard Class A Trooper uniform consists of a gray colored button-up shirt, with long sleeves in winter. A black tie is worn with the long-sleeve shirt, patches are sewn to each sleeve. Gray pants with a Dark Blue stripe down the sides are worn year round, black Clarino shoes and Sam Browne belt, without cross strap, gun belt are worn with the uniform. A black semi-gloss straw Campaign hat is worn year round, a modified winter fur cap can be worn in the colder months. A dark blue blouse and standard black Clarino Sam Browne gun belt
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Environmental impact study
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Environmental assessment is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or concrete projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. Environmental assessments may be governed by rules of administrative procedure regarding public participation and documentation of decision making, the purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision makers consider the environmental impacts when deciding whether or not to proceed with a project. Environmental impact assessments commenced in the 1960s, as part of increasing environmental awareness, EIAs involved a technical evaluation intended to contribute to more objective decision making. In the United States, environmental impact assessments obtained formal status in 1969, EIAs have been used increasingly around the world. The number of Environmental Assessments filed every year has vastly overtaken the number of more rigorous Environmental Impact Statements, an Environmental Assessment is a mini-EIS designed to provide sufficient information to allow the agency to decide whether the preparation of a full-blown Environmental Impact Statement is necessary. EIA is an activity that is done to find out the impact that would be done before development will occur and these EIAs consider activities related to extraction of raw materials, ancillary materials, equipment, production, use, disposal and ancillary equipment. Genetically modified plants - Specific methods available to perform EIAs of genetically modified organisms include GMP-RAM, fuzzy logic - EIA methods need measurement data to estimate values of impact indicators. However, many of the environment impacts cannot be quantified, e. g. landscape quality, lifestyle quality, instead information from similar EIAs, expert judgment and community sentiment are employed. Approximate reasoning methods known as fuzzy logic can be used, a fuzzy arithmetic approach has also been proposed and implemented using a software tool. At the end of the project, an audit evaluates the accuracy of the EIA by comparing actual to predicted impacts, the objective is to make future EIAs more valid and effective. The Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol is a specific method for checking the quality of Environmental and Social assessments. The history of EIA in Australia could be linked to the enactment of the U. S. National Environment Policy Act in 1970, which made the preparation of environmental impact statements a requirement. In Australia, one might say that the EIA procedures were introduced at a State Level prior to that of the Commonwealth, with a majority of the states having divergent views to the Commonwealth. One of the states was New South Wales, whose State Pollution Control Commission issued EIA guidelines in 1974. At a Commonwealth level, this was followed by passing of the Environment Protection Act in 1974, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 superseded the Environment Protection Act 1974 and is the current central piece for EIA in Australia on a Commonwealth level. Overlap between federal and state requirements is addressed via bilateral agreements or one off accreditation of state processes, in addition to this, the EPBC Act aims at providing a streamlined national assessment and approval process for activities. The Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts assess the process and this is primarily due to the division of powers between the States and the Federal government and due to which the Australian Government environment minister cannot overturn a state decision. There are strict civil and criminal penalties for the breach of EPBC Act, EIA provisions within Ministerial Authorities in the ACT are found in the Chapters 7 and 8 of the Planning and Development Act 2007
I-64 / US 60
