This board looked lonely, and I couldn't let my region not be represented! Awwww... Voyager beat me to it
What do you guys think of VDOT's 3rd Crossing plans?
http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/hamptonroads/hampton_roads_third_crossing.aspI think that the proposal to extend I-564 under Craney Island to meet I-664 (as mentioned in the AARoads article on Hampton Roads thanks to my revisions
) is not sufficient for the area's transportation needs. When they built the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge (MMMBT)-Tunnel in the 90s, they planned on diverting some of the traffic from I-64's Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT), but in my opinion that failed. I know I always still take the HRBT when heading to the Southside. It's just more direct to hop on 64 eastbound and head straight through into Norfolk, as opposed to getting on 64 westbound, then 664 southbound, VA-164 eastbound (toll) or I-264 eastbound, both with another tunnel, and then dealing with the mess of the interchange for downtown off of I-264. Building another highway east-west will not help a thing, as the Western Freeway (VA-164), just a few miles south of the proposed new one, is not that heavily traveled as it is. And it would still be simpler to just take 64, as 664/564 would be simply a big loop. Thus I think that VDOT should simply forget the Third Crossing project and rebuild the HRBT (a proposal they've actually begun taking seriously now). A new bypass is not the answer, but rather a widened main route. They added a proposal for widening the HRBT in January 2008:
http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/hamptonroads/hrbt_expansion_alternatives.aspSo which proposal does everybody think they should go with?