Interstate 64 in Virginia
Interstate 64 in the U.S. state of Virginia runs east–west through the middle of the state from West Virginia to the Hampton Roads region, for a total of. It is notable for crossing the mouth of the harbor of Hampton Roads on the Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel, the first bridge-tunnel to incorporate artificial islands.. Also noteworthy is a section through Rockfish Gap, a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which was equipped with an innovative system of airport-style runway lighting embedded into the pavement to aid motorists during periods of poor visibility due to fog or other conditions.
Route description
Alleghany County to Charlottesville
I-64 enters Virginia as a four-lane divided highway, continuing its concurrency with U.S. 60 through Covington into Lexington where the two routes split. From Lexington, I-64 then turns northward to Staunton overlapping Interstate 81 in the Shenandoah Valley. From Staunton, I-64 leaves I-81 and passes through Waynesboro and crosses Rockfish Gap and continues eastward, passing just to the south of Charlottesville, closely following the path of the historic colonial-era Three Notch'd Road, which had been established in the Colony of Virginia by the 1730s, and was largely replaced in the 1930s by U.S. Route 250. Just outside of Charlottsville in Zion Crossroads, I-64 received the state's first diverging diamond interchange at its interchange with US 15, which opened to traffic on February 21, 2014, and completed on April 15, 2014.Greater Richmond and the Virginia Peninsula
After Charlottesville, I-64 then turns more east-southeasterly and heads towards Richmond, passing through Fluvanna, Goochland and Louisa Counties. After entering Henrico County, and the Richmond Metro area, Interstate 64 interchanges and overlaps with Interstate 95 on a stretch of highway which was a part of the former Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike, passing near Downtown Richmond and through the historic African-American neighborhood of Jackson Ward. Once on the southside of Downtown Richmond, I-64 diverges from its concurrency with I-95 and continues southeasterly down the Virginia Peninsula through New Kent County and the Historic Triangle, into Newport News.This portion of I-64 was set up by VDOT with a contraflow lane reversal system in place in the event of a mass evacuation of the Hampton Roads area region due to a hurricane or other catastrophic event. Gates are installed at the eastbound Interstate 64 entrance and exit ramps from Exit 200 to Exit 273, and crossover roads are in place near the aforementioned exits.
Hampton Roads Beltway
About a mile before the southern interchange with VA 199 I-64 becomes a six-lane divided highway as it continues toward Hampton Roads. Shortly after entering its interchange with Denbigh Blvd, I-64 enters Metro Hampton Roads and widens out to an eight-lane divided highway, continuing generally south-southeasterly into Hampton where it meets the northern terminus of Interstate 664 beginning the Inner Loop of the Hampton Roads Beltway. I-64 curves north-northeast to pass north of Downtown Hampton and cross the Hampton River, turning back southward to reach the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, which it utilizes to cross the main shipping channel at the entrance to the harbor of Hampton Roads from the Chesapeake Bay. Once on the Southside, I-64 turns south through Norfolk, passing the eastern boundary of Naval Station Norfolk and Chambers Field, and the spur route supplying it, Interstate 564. It then becomes a six lane divided highway with a two lane reversible roadway in the middle, which is used for HOV-traffic during morning and afternoon rush hours. It continues through Norfolk, curving multiple times and eventually ending up heading due south as it passes the interchange with another of its spur routes, Interstate 264 on the northwest side of Virginia Beach.After I-264, there are no more directional markers on I-64 from here to its "eastern" terminus, because I-64 "east" will actually head west after its current southward course, and vice versa. From I-264 to its "eastern" terminus, it is simply only signed as I-64 and either the Inner and Outer loop of the Hampton Roads Beltway.
Shortly after the I-264 interchange, I-64 leaves Virginia Beach for the city of Chesapeake. It soon comes to a complex interchange between another of its spur routes, Interstate 464, along with SR 168 and U.S. 17. I-64, now running westward, crosses the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River using the High Rise Bridge. The road then curves northwesterly and ends at Bowers Hill, where it meets both the western terminus of Interstate 264 and the southern terminus of Interstate 664 near the northeastern corner of the Great Dismal Swamp. I-64's lanes continue northbound as I-664 to Newport News across the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnel, ending at I-64 in Hampton, completing the beltway.
History
In early studies and proposals of the Interregional Highway System, I-64 was to use the U.S. Route 250 alignment west of Richmond. However, in the late 1950s, a number of interested citizens including Virginia Senator Mosby G. Perrow, Jr., proposed that I-64 be realigned to run along U.S. Route 220, U.S. Route 460, State Route 307, and U.S. Route 360 from Clifton Forge via Cloverdale, Lynchburg, and Farmville to Richmond. This southern route was favored by Gov. J. Lindsay Almond Jr. and most members of the State Highway Commission.The decision was on hold for three years while the state continued planning for the piece of the US 250 alignment from Richmond to Short Pump, which would be needed anyway to handle traffic. In 1961, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Luther Hodges rejected that plan and chose the present route, leaving Lynchburg as the largest city in Virginia not served by an interstate. Officially, the chosen route was considered more efficient. However, there is speculation that the decision involved "back-room" politics of the Kennedy administration.
Auxiliary routes
Interstate 64 has four auxiliary routes, all of which are in the Hampton Roads Area:- Interstate 264, a bypass route serving the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Downtown Norfolk and most of Portsmouth.
- Interstate 464, a connector route serving the western side of Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Downtown Norfolk. It connects I-64 in Chesapeake to I-264 in Norfolk.
- Interstate 564, a spur route serving Naval Station Norfolk.
- Interstate 664, a bypass route serving Chesapeake, Suffolk, Newport News and Hampton.
Accidents
On December 22, 2019, around 69 cars were involved in a pile-up on I-64 westbound at the Queen's Creek Bridge near exit 238. 51 injuries were reported, including two life-threatening. Per reports, ice and fog were seen at that time.Current and future projects
I-64 widening projects
Two segments on I-64 have been identified as candidates for widening: I-64 on the Virginia Peninsula from New Kent County to Newport News and I-64 in South Hampton Roads from the I-464/SR 168/U.S. 17 interchange in Chesapeake to the Bowers Hill Interchange in Suffolk.Peninsula
On the Peninsula, most of the I-64 corridor is a four lane roadway and is one of the most-traveled segments in the region, connecting the Hampton Roads Metro to the Greater Richmond region. In recent years, the corridor has become a major bottleneck for traffic, with over half of the entire 75 mile stretch having failing or near failing levels of service and continued increased safety concerns. In 2011, VDOT initiated a study that would consider widening the highway with either additional general purpose lanes in the median and/or on the outside shoulder, adding a two laned, fully reversible managed lanes, or the addition of full tolling on the entire span. The approved plan selected by VDOT and partners included the plan that added an additional general purpose lane in each direction by either expanding into the median or on the outside shoulder.
In June 2013, the Commonwealth Transportation Board included $100 million in funding for the project in its Six-Year Improvement Program, allowing the project to move forward into the design and build phases. The Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization allocated an additional $44 million to Segment I of the project to extend the boundaries beyond the Fort Eustis interchange. The project is broken down into three operationally independent segments, which are independently funded, designed and built by a different company.
- Segment I encompassed the portion of I-64 beginning west of Route 143, Jefferson Avenue to just east of Route 238, Yorktown Road. Construction on this segment began in September 2015 and was completed December 1, 2017. It was managed by Shirley Contracting Company, LLC at a total cost of $122 million.
- Segment II began 1.05 miles west of Route 199 near exit 242 and ended 0.54 miles east of Route 238 near exit 247, where Segment I ends. Construction on this segment was managed by Alan Myers VA, LLC, and is expected to cost $138 million. Construction began in the fall of 2016 and was completed in spring 2019.
- Segment III begins approximately 1.0 mile west of Route 199, Newman Road to 1.05 miles west of Route 199, Humelsine Parkway/Marquis Center Parkway, where segment 2 ended. Construction on this segment is managed by Shirley Contracting Company, LLC with an estimated cost of $178 million. Construction began in August 2018 and is estimated to be complete in Fall 2021.
- In the Richmond area, a project to widen I-64 to six lanes from Exit 200 in Henrico County to Exit 205 in New Kent County. The project is managed by Corman-Branch, a joint venture at an estimated cost of $43 million. Construction began in August 2017 and is expected to be complete in summer 2019.
Similar to I-64 west of Newport News on the Peninsula, VDOT and the HRTPO undertook environmental and preliminary engineering studies for the improvement of the 8 mile, 48 year old corridor of the I-64 from Interstate 464 in Chesapeake to the Bowers Hill Interchange. This included replacing the functionally obsolete High Rise Bridge, which was completed one year after the study corridor opened, in 1969.
This study, completed in 2013, showed that the corridor frequently performed at near-failing levels of service, with the High Rise Bridge itself outright failing, resulting in higher crash rates when compared to other areas in the region. This is because most of the interchange ramps were built to previous interstate standards and were based on then-rural development in the Western Chesapeake and Eastern Suffolk. In addition, since the start of tolling at the Elizabeth River Tunnels, the High Rise Bridge and the corridor has received a nearly 7% increase in traffic during peak hours, further exacerbating the problem.
In March 2015, the CTB identified and approved of the addition of two lanes of capacity in each direction, with the possibility of them being either 2 HOT lanes, 1 HOV & 1 general purpose lane or all four lanes being tolled. Widening would be accomplished by adding the lanes in the median east of U.S. 17 and to the outside shoulder west of U.S. 17. The approved plan also calls for the construction of a new, four-lane 135 ft. fixed span bridge to the south of the current High Rise Bridge. Construction will be conducted in multiple phases, similar to the widening project on the Peninsula:
- The first phase of the project would widen I-64 to 3 lanes in each direction by adding the new lane to the median in both directions as a managed lane, begin the construction of the new High Rise Bridge, and replace and rehabilitate other existing bridges in the area. This segment is estimated to cost around $600 million.
- The second phase would see all six lanes of I-64 shifted to the newly constructed bridge while the old bridge is demolished and replaced with a new four lane bridge that would eventually carry Inner Loop traffic.
- The final phase would see the addition of the fourth lanes of traffic added to both directions and the shift of Inner Loop/I-64 West to the newly reconstructed bridge.
I-64 Express Lanes
State and regional leaders have come up to convert the region's 32 miles of existing high occupancy vehicle lanes into high occupancy toll lanes called the I-64 Express Lanes. According to a 2016 study by VDOT, only 1600 vehicles travel through the Norfolk HOV lanes during the morning HOV restriction, and only 1300 vehicles through the lanes through Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. The plans for the I-64 Express Lanes have been divided into individual segments, all of which have been endorsed by the regions transportation planning organization.Segment 1: I-64 reversible roadway
Segment 1 converted the 2-lane reversible roadway in Norfolk between the I-64/I-564 interchange and the I-64/I-264 interchange to HOT-2 lanes. Inner Loop traffic enters through the ramp just prior to the I-564 interchange, and exits through either the left exit directly to I-264 East, the slip ramp back to the Inner Loop for the interchange to I-264 West or continue straight into mainline Inner Loop on the other side of the interchange. Outer Loop traffic enters the lanes at the ramp just after the I-64 Twin Bridges at the Elizabeth River, I-264 West traffic uses the flyover ramp from mainline I-264 to the Express Lanes, and I-264 East traffic merges onto the Outer Loop and utilizes the slip ramp entry. Tolling is only operational from Monday - Friday from 5:00- 9:00 am and from 2pm to 6pm. Minimum toll during these periods is 50 cents and increases proportionally to traffic. Toll gantry installation and conversion was completed January 10, 2018, slightly behind schedule.
Segment 2: Virginia Beach/Chesapeake & High Rise Bridge
Segment 2 would convert the single HOV-2 diamond lanes in each direction to HOT-2 lanes, and would also include the newly expanded High Rise Bridge and associated lanes of I-64 from the I-464/I-64 interchange. Both directions would have a primary entrance/exit near the Bowers Hill interchange, with a midpoint entrance/exit near the Greenbrier Parkway/Battlefield Boulevard interchanges and a terminal entrance/exit that ties in at the Twin Bridges. The current HOV lanes from be reduced from 16 feet to 12 feet, and new 12 foot lanes would be built extend across the I-64/I-464 interchange and be built into the new High Rise Bridge and all the way to the Bowers Hill interchange. These lanes would be operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week once activated, and would be variably priced depending on the traffic in the general purpose lanes. This segment is scheduled to be completed as part of the High Rise Bridge project, which is scheduled for completion in 2021.
Segment 3: Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel
Segment 3 would be built as part of the Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel Expansion project, and would build from the existing reversible HOV northern terminus at I-564/I-64 through and across the expanded bridge-tunnel, and through the existing HOV-2 diamond lanes in Hampton. Planning for this segment will continue as the HRBT Expansion project continues and would open at the same time as the new HRBT opens, in 2024.
Segment 4: I-64 on the Peninsula
Segment 4 would convert the remaining diamond lanes on I-64 in Hampton & Newport News to HOT-2 lanes as an extension of the HRBT Project. Detailed studies for this project, including operational hours, planning and design will occur in 2018, and would open along with the completion of the HRBT expansion.
Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel expansion
According to VDOT, in 1958, an average of 6,000 vehicles a day used the facility whereas an average of 88,000 vehicles a day were using the crossing in 2008, with volumes exceeding 100,000 during the tourist season, well exceeding the original design capacity of 77,000 vehicles per day, which sparked decades of debate on how to improve traffic flow at the region's most important water crossing. Studies into the growing traffic at the HRBT have roots back to the early 1990s. In 1992, the Virginia General Assembly had requested that VDOT study growing traffic at the HRBT. The conclusion of that study determined that a long-term large-scale solution to the problem would be required to alleviate backups. For the next fourteen years, VDOT would undertake numerous studies in 1999, 2008, 2012 and 2016, to help choose a candidate build that was financially and physically feasible to build.After nearly two decades of studies and planning, the Commonwealth Transportation Board, and the two regional boards responsible for the project voted unanimously in 2016 to a $3.3 billion expansion of the current bridge-tunnel and its approaches from four lanes to six lanes in both directions from the I-664 interchange to the I-564 interchange, with a new, three lane bridge tunnel built to carry traffic eastbound. A Final Environmental Impact Study was published in May 2017, and the Record of Decision from the FHWA was granted in June. There is no current timeline for construction, however, HRTPO's Executive Director has stated that the project should be completed by 2024, while internal planning documents suggest no later than 2028.