I feel like improvements should focus more on US 58 than I-664. The US 58 portion of the Suffolk Bypass needs at least three lanes in each direction,
It's questionable that the entire bypass needs 6 lanes, though I can certainly understand east of either the US-460 or VA-10/32 interchanges.
The AADT between US-460 and VA-32 is 45,000, increasing to 55,000 east of there, then dropping back to around 47,000 east of VA-642. This is likely due to the fact the US-58 bypass is the only crossing of the Nansemond River in miles either direction. A good "small" project could be to add an auxiliary lane between VA-32 and VA-642 which would include widening / replacing the bridges over the river. That would cover roughly 1 mile. The next segment would be east of VA-642 to the eastern end of the bypass, around 2 miles, tying into the existing 6 lane arterial segment.
The need west of VA-32 or US-460 is certainly less, that stretch only carrying around 40,000 AADT which is plenty adequate on a 4 lane freeway. Any backups are caused due to the arterial segment to the west queuing, not the freeway itself.
Thankfully, the busiest portion of US-58, the stretch between Suffolk and Bowers Hill, was built out to 6 lanes in the 1970s and is more than adequate lane wise. Access control is another problem - though not nearly as big especially congestion wise, though it's slowly getting fixed. A
flyover / interchange at the SPSA Regional Landfill is planned to begin in 2026 which would eliminate a dangerous left turn for trucks from the west to the facility, that currently have to cross 3 high-speed lanes of traffic.
The city of Chesapeake is pursuing a project in the near term that would add a series of RCUTs and close some median crossings closer to the airport just west of Bowers Hill.
https://smartportal.virginiahb2.org/#/public/applications/2022/smartScale/view/F30-0000007226-R01Included in that link is a study that recommends constructing a full diamond interchange in the airport vicinity in the long term.
and the improvements that recently started just west of the bypass need to be continued further west to at least the Suffolk/Southampton line. The truck traffic along this stretch going to/from the Port of Virginia to/from I-95 and I-85 is starting to become unbearable through Suffolk.
It's also questionable if the ongoing 6 lane arterial widening needs to extend beyond its current terminus. While that area is an issue, a true long term solution is needed - an interstate grade facility on new location bypassing that entire segment between Suffolk and Holland.
VDOT completed a
study for the US-58 corridor between the western end of the Suffolk bypass and west of I-95 a few years ago. While recommendations were largely limited to spot upgrades such as innovative intersections, closing some crossings, etc. two pages of the
final study report were dedicated to analyzing the potential of upgrading / relocating the entire corridor to interstate standards. VDOT estimated around $2.3 - $3.5 billion for such a project.
Additionally, the HRTPO has completed a "gateway analysis" over the past few months which analyzed three major potential projects - upgrading US-58 to interstate standards east of I-95 ("I-58"), upgrading US-17 to interstate standards to NC (I-87), and widening I-64 to Richmond. That report estimated $3 billion for an "I-58" project.
https://www.hrtpo.org/uploads/docs/040622%20TTAC%2010_Presentation%20Hampton%20Roads%20Gateways%20Analysis.pdfAs a start, I would like to see a project pursued for a freeway connection between the western end of the Suffolk Bypass and the Holland or Franklin bypasses. The segment between Emporia and Courtland should be the last priority.
Also, they need to reconstruct the ancient I-95/US 58 cloverleaf in Emporia, but that’s probably asking for too much.
That area would be an interesting one to address, especially if US-58 is ever to be upgraded to a full freeway out to I-95. I imagine some sort of hybrid of using the existing bypass then splitting off to the north slightly near US-301 to a new freeway-to-freeway interchange with I-95, then tying back to the existing US-58 west of Emporia.
The US-58 corridor study referenced above recommended reconstructing that junction into a diverging diamond interchange.
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Topic: Virginia (Read 1247142 times)