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One thing that hasn’t changed much in 25 years? The giant room-sized terminal with video cameras and tunnel controls. Many parts of the mechanical interior look new, despite their age. Plenty has been done on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis to maintain fire suppression, tiles and the roadway. dir="ltr">Just like cars, tunnels need regular maintenance.Many things we take for granted today were innovative back in 1992: the first time we saw dynamic message signs on the interstates, travel time signs, gradual/auto-dimming lights that helped with tunnel phobia, 4-foot shoulders, AM/FM signal inside the tunnel and that spaceship-looking control center that looms above the tunnel. dir="ltr">It was a technological wonder at the time.
MONITOR MERRIMAC MEMORIAL BRIDGE TUNNEL PORTABLE
One man photographed that night hung out by his car waiting for it to open with a beer in hand, watching a portable TV.
MONITOR MERRIMAC MEMORIAL BRIDGE TUNNEL DRIVERS
Many waited in line to be the first drivers over the bridge.
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Portsmouth history buff Stephen Thompson wrote his master’s thesis on the USS Monitor. dir="ltr">What’s in the name? The MMBT is named after a famous Civil War naval battle, the first to pit two ironclad ships against each other.dir="ltr">The Monitor-Merrimac didn’t make the front page of The Virginian-Pilot the day it opened because the Rodney King riots broke out in Los Angeles the day before.With care and continued maintenance the facility should last for another 25 years, and another and maybe another. The Monitor-Merrimac is young compared to other tunnels around Hampton Roads. Teams monitor traffic and maintain the facility. Then a pause, as workers stopped traffic for an oversized load that took up most of the tunnel. Inside the tunnel, it's as loud as a high-speed train – nearly 100 decibels.