Multiple openings were held at the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge Sunday morning to allow crews to perform maintenance operations.

Motorists traveling in both directions at the span, which carries Route 17 over the York River between Gloucester Point and Yorktown, experienced traffic stops of up to 30 minutes as the spans were opened, said Brooke Grow, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation. Intermittent openings were held for four hours Sunday morning, Grow said, but the span did not open to river traffic until after 7 p.m. Sunday to allow completion of some maintenance under the span.

Work included changing oil in the motors, in addition to shimming and greasing bridge functions, Grow said.

A similar series of openings was held the previous Sunday to perform other routine maintenance, Grow said, and no problems were reported during either series of openings.

"It should hold up during the winter," Grow said of the bridge undergoing periodic r...