In the mid-1940s, Virginia legislators wanted to replace the aging vehicle ferry system that transported its motorists over the waterways in the state. Authorized by a revenue bond act passed earlier by the General Assembly, the commission decided during the 1946-47 fiscal year to construct toll bridges to replace ferry crossings on the York River at Yorktown and the Rappahannock River at Grey’s Point and to acquire from private owners the ferries that carried vehicles across Hampton Roads between the Norfolk and Lower Peninsula areas. Shortly thereafter in 1952, VDOT opened a two-lane tunnel. It was the first fixed crossing directly between Portsmouth and Norfolk across the Elizabeth River, predating the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel by five years. It was financed and built by the Elizabeth River Tunnel Commission with toll revenue bonds and was completed in 1952. Tolls at the time were 25 cents. In 1988 and 1989, during an expansion of I-264, the Downtown Tunnel was expanded to two tunnels, and the nearby Berkley Bridge was rebuilt and expanded to eight lanes, connecting I-264 to I-464, just short of the tunnel entrance. Tolls were also removed at that time.
In 2004, VDOT sent out an informal request for information to private entities to gauge interest in pursuing a public-private partnership to help build the parallel Midtown Tunnel and extend the MLK Freeway to I-264. At the time, the project did not include any work at the Downtown Tunnel. Of the three companies that responded, two of the companies, one being the company that ultimately bid on the current project through Virginia's Public Private Transportation Act. Elizabeth River Crossings, the company formed by interested party Skanska with additional capital by Australian investment companyMacquarie Group, submitted their proposal to VDOT. After the lengthy review process required under the PPTA, then-Governor Bob McDonnell and VDOT executed the Comprehensive Agreement with ERC on December 5, 2011. Under the agreement, VDOT retains ownership and oversight of the tunnels, while ERC finances, builds, operates and maintains the facilities for a 58-year concession period. Under the agreement, the work on the Downtown Tunnel consisted of different items based on NFPA 502 standards, work which includes:
Removing old lighting and replacing with energy-efficient LED lighting
Installing a new longitudinal ventilation system with eight sets of jet fans,
Removing police booths and other cosmetic level rehab work.
Work on the westbound tunnel began on August 9, 2013. Rehabilitation work on the eastbound tunnel began on July 25, 2014. The completion date of the Downtown Tunnel rehabilitation work was November 3, 2016.
