The Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that spans the James River between Jordan's Point in Prince George County and Charles City County near Hopewell, Virginia. The bridge carries vehicle traffic of State Route 106 and State Route 156, and is owned by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). It is named after Benjamin Harrison V, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a Governor of Virginia, who lived nearby at Berkeley Plantation. Originally completed in 1966, it was substantially rebuilt following a February 24, 1977 collision by a ship. Repairs took 20 months to complete. The cost of repairs and operations for an innovative passenger shuttle service contracted by the state were $9.7 million. The costs were recovered from the insurer for the shipping company following a lawsuit in U.S. District Court. Working in conjunction with the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, the Benjamin Harrison Bridge and its VDOT staff host a successful breeding program for peregrine falcons on its high towers. History The mile-long drawbridge replaced ferry service when it was completed in 1966 by Hardesty & Hanover L.L.P., a New York-based bridge engineering firm. It featured a vertical lift span to facilitate passage of shipping traffic on this portion of the James River, which is navigable from Hampton Roads upstream to the Port of Richmond, about west of the bridge. Disaster in 1977 Tanker ship crashes into bridge On February 24, 1977, the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge was the scene of a spectacular and costly accident. A small, ocean-going, WWII-surplus tanker ship, the 5,700 ton, 523-ft long , was eastbound, heading downriver from Allied Signal Corp. in Hopewell, Virginia. Once underway and only a short distance from the Benjamin Harrison Bridge, the steering gear that powers the ships rudder malfunctioned, and caused the ship to suddenly lose control and ability to maneuver. The bridge tender had placed the lift span in the "raised" position in anticipation of the ship's passage, and motorists were sitting in their vehicles behind the warning gates waiting. As the large ship veered off course to the north and blew warning blasts on its horn, the occupants of southbound vehicles waiting on the bridge saw the ship coming directly toward them, and managed to get out of their cars and run to safety before the ship rammed the bridge. As the ship departed the channel to the north,