The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel is set to expand to eight lanes by 2025.
W
ith construction beginning this fall to expand the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT),
relief is on the way for travelers weary of sitting in traffic jams along one of south- eastern Virginia’s most congested corridors. The $3.8 billion expansion is the
largest project in the history of the Virginia Department of Transportation and one of the largest infrastructure projects in the nation. It will also employ new tunnel-excavation technology that has just begun to be used for major road- way projects. Twin two-lane tunnels, about 50 feet
deeper than the current tunnels, will be constructed just west of the existing eastbound tunnel, while more than two dozen marine bridges will be replaced. Additionally, the four-lane sections
of the Interstate 64 corridor between Settlers Landing Road in Hampton and the Phoebus shoreline and the four-lane section of I-64 in Norfolk between the Willoughby shoreline and the I-564 inter- change will be widened to six lanes, with the addition of a third lane and a drivable shoulder in each direction. When the project is completed in late 2025, there will be a total of eight lanes of capacity across the water. The Hampton Roads Transportation
$3.8 billion Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel expansion incorporates new tunnel-boring technology
by Elizabeth Cooper
Accountability Commission is the main funding agent for the project, using local revenue from sales and gasoline taxes in the Hampton Transportation Fund. State and federal funds will also support the expansion. Along with increasing capacity and
safety and enhancing the region’s emer- gency evacuation readiness, the multifac- eted project is expected to improve travel time reliability. On a daily basis, commuters face an average six-mile backup to cross the Hampton Roads harbor. “You just never know if it will be 15 minutes or 50 minutes to get through the HRBT,” says James S. Utterback, VDOT’s director for the HRBT expansion project. “The value of the new facility is that drivers will have a much more predictable time to get through this corridor.”
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