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.

It featured a 360-foot-long (110 m) 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,[1] about 23 miles (37 km) west of the bridge.

A small, ocean-going, WWII-surplus tanker ship, the 5,700 ton, 523-ft long SS Marine Floridian, was eastbound, heading downriver from Allied Signal Corp. in Hopewell, Virginia.

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.

The bridge tender, a state employee, was trapped in the control booth located on the raised lift span near the south end.

A resident of the Jordan Point Yacht Haven launched a 19-foot runabout and with the help of a local rescue squad member began a search of the area for survivors.

Representatives of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the United States Coast Guard, and Virginia Governor Mills E. Godwin Jr.'s Office of Emergency Services responded to the scene.

The nearest highway bridge upstream was located on Interstate 95 at Richmond, necessitating an additional driving distance of over 50 miles (80 km).

Later on the day of the accident, state officials called upon local bus, taxicab, and water transportation providers, including both Greyhound Lines and Trailways, to offer potential solutions for the commuters.

The contractors met the state's deadline, and their service was in place three days later, essentially operating from dawn to dusk, with schedules adjusted to suit commuters as much as possible.

In the opposite situation, some workers who lived on the south side of the river, parked and rode the ferry, and then vans or buses transported them to employment, mostly at Charles City County schools and other governmental agencies.

Additionally, a light-duty car-float, which was essentially a barge guided by a tugboat, was later introduced which could transport a small number of automobiles and light trucks during favorable weather conditions to supplement the passenger ferry and shuttle bus/van arrangements, providing the commuters with a choice.

Shortly before the accident Captains Ron Blaha (Blaha Towing Company) and Virginia Pilot Bobby Stone (Virginia Pilots Association) stated during an interview on local television news that because the drawbridge was located at a bend in the channel the traffic gates should be moved back away from the channel to prevent cars from falling into the river in the event that a ship was unable to make the turn and hit the fixed span.

In a major victory for the endangered species, and VDOT's environmental efforts, in the spring of 2003, nearly a dozen peregrine falcon chicks were hatched.

That spring, three chicks or "eyases" on the Benjamin Harrison Bridge on Route 156 over the James River were banded with a transmitter for tracking purposes, and two were released at Shenandoah National Park.

Fish and Wildlife Service, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Conservation Center, VDOT monitors the falcons on each bridge to ensure they and their habitat are doing well.

Through placement of nesting boxes on 10 bridges maintained by VDOT, the endangered peregrine falcons – considered the world's fastest birds – once again fly high over Virginia's eastern seaboard.

Because of the significant role it played in the recovery of the peregrine falcon in Virginia, VDOT earned the 1998 Federal Highway Administration Excellence Award in the category of Environment Protection and Enhancements.