Bridge owners fight taxation by Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) - The owner of the South Norfolk Jordan Bridge is challenging Portsmouth’s efforts to tax the structure.

The Virginian-Pilot reports (https://bit.ly/1KlaM7T ) that South Norfolk Jordan Bridge LLC has asked a Portsmouth judge to rule the city lacks the jurisdiction to tax it. It court documents, the company denies it owes more than $1 million in back taxes. The bridge opened in 2012 and connects Portsmouth and Chesapeake. The filing notes the bridge was not built with public money.

Attorneys representing the city and the company declined to comment to the newspaper.

In June, Portsmouth sued the bridge’s owner seeking back taxes, plus 10 percent interest.

The South Norfolk Jordan Bridge replaced the original Jordan Bridge, which was closed in November 2008 after Chesapeake discovered structural problems.

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Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, https://pilotonline.com