§ 117.1007 - Elizabeth River - Eastern Branch.

§ 117.1007 Elizabeth River - Eastern Branch.

(a) The draw of the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge (NS #V2.8), mile 2.7 at Norfolk, shall operate as follows:

(1) The draw shall remain in the open position for navigation. The draw shall only be closed for train crossings or periodic maintenance authorized in accordance with subpart A of this part.

(2) The bridge shall be operated by the controller at the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge (NS #5), mile 1.1, over the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River in Norfolk, VA. The controller shall monitor vessel traffic with closed circuit cameras and infrared sensors covering the swing radius. Operational information will be provided 24 hours a day on marine channel 13 and via telephone [phone].

(3) The bridge shall not be operated from the remote location in the following events: Failure or obstruction of the infrared sensors, closed-circuit cameras or marine-radio communications, or anytime controller's visibility is inhibited. In these situations, a bridge tender with Norfolk Southern must be called to operate the bridge on-site.

(4) Before the bridge closes for any reason, the remote operator will monitor waterway traffic in the area. The bridge shall only be closed if the off-site remote operator's visual inspection shows that the channel is clear and there are no vessels transiting in the area. While the bridge is moving, the operator shall maintain constant surveillance of the navigation channel.

(5) Before closing the draw, the channel traffic lights will change from flashing green to flashing red, the horn will sound five short blasts, and an audio voice warning stating, “Attention, Attention. Norfolk Southern's Railroad Bridge over the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River at milepost 2.7 will be closing to river traffic.” Five short blasts of the horn will continue until the bridge is seated and locked down to vessels, the channel traffic lights will continue to flash red.

(6) When the rail traffic has cleared, the horn will sound one prolonged blast followed by one short blast to indicate that the draw is opening to vessel traffic. During the opening swing movement, the channel traffic lights will flash red until the bridge returns to the fully open position. In the full open position to vessels, the bridge channel lights will flash green followed by an announcement stating, “Security, security, security. Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge at mile 2.7 is open for river traffic.” Vessels shall stay clear of both channels as to not interfere with infrared detectors, until green lights are displayed on the swing span.

(b) The draw of the Berkley Bridge, mile 0.4 in Norfolk:

(1) Shall remain closed one hour prior to the published start of a scheduled marine event regulated under § 100.501 of this chapter, and shall remain closed until one hour following the completion of the event unless the Patrol Commander designated under § 100.501 of this chapter allows the bridge to open for commercial vessel traffic.

(2) Shall open on signal at any time for vessels carrying, in bulk, cargoes regulated by 46 CFR subchapters D or O, or Certain Dangerous Cargoes as defined in 33 CFR 160.202.

(3) For all other vessels, the draw shall open on signal at any time, except from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. During these times, the draw shall:

(i) Open for commercial vessels with a draft of 18 feet or more, provided at least 6 hours notice was given to the Berkley Bridge Traffic Control room at [phone].

(ii) Open on signal at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

(4) If the bridge is not opened during a particular scheduled opening per paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of this section and a vessel has made prior arrangements for a delayed opening, the draw tender may provide a single opening up to 30 minutes past that scheduled opening time for that signaling vessel, except at 2:30 p.m. The draw tender may provide a single opening up to 20 minutes past the 2:30 p.m. scheduled opening time for a signaling vessel that made prior arrangements for a delayed opening. A vessel may make prior arrangements for a delayed opening by contacting the Berkley Bridge Traffic Control room at [phone].

[CGD 82-025, 49 FR 43463, Oct. 29, 1984, as amended by CGD 05-88-13, 53 FR 20321, June 3, 1988; CGD 5-89-43, 54 FR 30039, July 18, 1989; CGD5-90-023, 55 FR 23434, June 8, 1990; CGD05-04-209, 70 FR 22254, Apr. 29, 2005; CGD05-05-049, 70 FR 68337, Nov. 10, 2005; USCG-2009-0754, 75 FR 47464, Aug. 6, 2010; USCG-2012-0357, 77 FR 52604, Aug. 30, 2012; USCG-2005-21869, 80 FR 5330, Jan. 30, 2015]