Virginia

[Beltway]

Seems like the first phase of the I-64 widening in Newport News (MM 247 to 253) could open before its scheduled December completion date:
http://www.dailypress.com/news/politics/dp-nws-hod-transportation-update-20171013-story.html
Entire project (MM 234 to MM 253) should be done by 2021.

I drove thru there today.  The Phase I project has surface course paving underway, looks like roadside work including guardrail is complete.  The Phase II project is well underway but in its early stages.  They cover the section between Bland Blvd. and just west of VA-199.

[Beltway]

I didn't realize that this project was ready to go!
....
CTB AWARDS TWO CONTRACTS WORTH $414.9 MILLION
Phase One of I-64 Widening and High Rise Bridge Replacement Project in Chesapeake is funded
http://www.virginiadot.org/newsroom/statewide/2017/ctb_awards_two_contracts120438.asp

I-64 will be widened and a new High Rise Bridge constructed in the City of Chesapeake

A $409.6 million contract was awarded to Granite/Parsons/Corman, Joint Venture of Tarrytown, NY to widen about 8 miles of Interstate 64 and construct a new High Rise Bridge adjacent to the existing span in the Hampton Roads District. The award is the largest design-build contract in Virginia Department of Transportation history.

The project will widen I-64 from four to six lanes beginning half a mile east of the Interstate 264 interchange at Bowers Hill to one mile east of the Interstate 464 interchange. The widening will add one High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane in each direction to the existing two general purpose lanes.

The new fixed-span High Rise Bridge will be built just south of the existing High Rise Bridge to carry the three lanes of I-64 west traffic over the Elizabeth River. The existing High Rise Bridge will continue to operate and will carry three lanes of I-64 east traffic upon completion of the project. The project will include replacement of the overpass bridge at Great Bridge Boulevard and realignment of the associated roadway. The existing bridges carrying I-64 over Military Highway, Yadkin Road and Shell Road will be widened.

The project is being paid for with a combination of funds from the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission and the state's SMART SCALE program.

The project is expected to be complete in summer 2021. It is designed to accommodate a future Phase 2 project, which will expand the corridor to a total of eight lanes and replace the existing High Rise Bridge.

I see on the project website that the new bridge will be built just south of the existing bridge, that it will be 6,900 feet long, and that it will have 100 feet of vertical navigational clearance over the river.  It is wide enough to accommodate four 12-foot lanes and two 15-foot shoulders in the future.

I-64 Southside Widening and High Rise Bridge Phase 1 Project
http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/hamptonroads/i-64_southside_widening_and_high_rise_bridge_phase_1_project.asp
Post Merge: October 25, 2017, 04:00:05 PM
High-Rise Bridge and I-64 widening contract approved, comes in millions lower than estimate
https://pilotonline.com/news/local/transportation/high-rise-bridge-and-i--widening-contract-approved-comes/article_0800bf31-458c-52eb-9fe1-58f504350387.html

By summer 2021, a key corridor in Chesapeake should see congestion relief as the Commonwealth Transportation Board voted Tuesday to award a $410 million contract to expand the High-Rise Bridge and surrounding Interstate 64 by two more lanes.

Those lanes will be high-occupancy toll lanes, which will allow free travel to vehicles with two or more passengers, but single-occupant vehicles will pay a variable toll based on the amount of congestion.

The design-build contract came in nearly $80 million below early estimates.

Granite/Parsons/Corman of Tarrytown, N.Y., will add two lanes to the 8-mile stretch and build an adjacent span of the High-Rise Bridge. The project begins just east of the Bower's Hill interchange and ends a mile east of the I-464 interchange.

[1995hoo]

WTOP posted their annual "ghost roads" compilation. Some nice pictures of abandoned roads and bridges:

https://wtop.com/local/2017/10/ghost-roads-iv-abandoned-highways-md-va/

[froggie]

It is wide enough to accommodate four 12-foot lanes and two 15-foot shoulders in the future.

Reason being that VDOT wants the new bridge to be able to accommodate 6 lanes for when the existing bridge is torn down and replaced in a future phase.

[Beltway]

It is wide enough to accommodate four 12-foot lanes and two 15-foot shoulders in the future.

Reason being that VDOT wants the new bridge to be able to accommodate 6 lanes for when the existing bridge is torn down and replaced in a future phase.

So they are not going to keep the original bridge open while building the second new bridge?  It didn't look like there was enough right-of-way to do that.

[froggie]

That's the impression I got reading through the project material...the existing bridge is generally in the same location as the future "eastbound bridge".  Makes sense why they'd want this first new bridge to be wide enough for 6 lanes.

[Beltway]

That's the impression I got reading through the project material...the existing bridge is generally in the same location as the future "eastbound bridge".  Makes sense why they'd want this first new bridge to be wide enough for 6 lanes.

Six lanes in a temporary configuration, as with a temporary concrete median barrier that would leave only a few feet of shoulder space.

[plain]

100 feet of vertical clearance should be enough to negate the need for a drawbridge there correct?

[Beltway]

100 feet of vertical clearance should be enough to negate the need for a drawbridge there correct?

Yes indeed.

[froggie]

Six lanes in a temporary configuration, as with a temporary concrete median barrier that would leave only a few feet of shoulder space.

No worse than what currently exists...

[Beltway]

Six lanes in a temporary configuration, as with a temporary concrete median barrier that would leave only a few feet of shoulder space.

No worse than what currently exists...

Considerably better since it will have 2 more lanes.  Just trying to understand the design.

[Jmiles32]

Glad to not only see VDOT moving forward with this badly needed project, but also the fact that it was $80 million below estimates! Wonder if that extra money will go back into smart scale or be used for other improvements along the I-64 corridor.
Finally, is there any timetable for Phase 2 yet?

[Beltway]

Glad to not only see VDOT moving forward with this badly needed project, but also the fact that it was $80 million below estimates! Wonder if that extra money will go back into smart scale or be used for other improvements along the I-64 corridor.

I am wondering if there was any competitive bidding on the project or if it was sole-source contract.

It was a design-build project, and I know a few others were sole source contracts.

[J N Winkler]

I've been looking into this project and have found what appears to be the RFQ, or part of it (scroll down to "I-64 Southside Widening"):

http://www.virginiadot.org/business/request-for-qualifications.asp

There was an accompanying RFQ information package whose contents are spelled out in the RFQ itself and include conceptual road and bridge plans for the project as well as as-built plans for bridges in the project area.  To obtain a copy you would have had to pay $50 to the VDOT Construction Division plans room.

http://www.virginiadot.org/business/resources/APD_Docs/RFQ/106692_-_Attachment_2.9_-_RFQ_Information_Package_Order_Form.pdf

I really hate this way of doing design-builds.  Other agencies just put the RFQ and RFP online in their entirety, including Reference Information Documentation (RID) distributions, which typically include the as-developed design as well as relevant as-builts and can run to tens of gigabytes.  Some of these agencies even go on to post the released-for-construction (RFC) plans once construction gets underway, and the final as-builts when construction finishes and the project is finaled out.

[froggie]

Wonder if that extra money will go back into smart scale or be used for other improvements along the I-64 corridor.

Some of it may go back into Smart Scale, but a large part of the funding was regional Hampton Roads funding, so you'd be more likely to see it go to another Hampton Roads project.

[AlexandriaVA]

Yesterday while on the Inner Loop near the Eisenhower Ave Metro station, I saw BGS marked with "National Science Foundation" staged on the side the road, presumable to put in place in the coming days.

[AlexandriaVA]

This is in where my neighborhood abuts the I-395 right-of-way. Almost certainly an old boundary marker for the Virginia Department of Highways.

[D-Dey65]

Seems that I-95 in NoVA has the worst traffic spot in the US.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Worst-Traffic-Spot-in-US-Found-on-I-95-in-Northern-Virginia-448426163.html?_osource=SocialFlowFB_DCBrand

"While I-95 represented the single worst traffic spot, Inrix found that overall the D.C. area ranks third to New York and Los Angeles in terms of overall traffic congestion. "

Why am I not surprised?

[VTGoose]

I-81 C/D Lanes coming to Roanoke -- in 2024

Monday's Roanoke Times had an ad for an upcoming design public hearing session in the Salem District on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, 4:30 — 6:30 p.m. at Northside High School. The page for the project explains:

• This $62-million project will add an additional lane along northbound and southbound I-81 between exit 141 (Salem) and exit 143 (Roanoke) in Roanoke County.
  
  Adding a two-mile auxiliary lane in both directions will alleviate congestion and provide for safer traffic movements at these exits.
  
  The primary purpose of this project is to alleviate congestion and provide for safer northbound and southbound merge movements between exits 141 and 143.
  
  As part of the project, sound walls will be considered along northbound I-81.
  
  The northbound auxiliary lane will connect the exit 141 on-ramp directly to the exit 143 off-ramp and will be constructed along, and adjacent to, the existing outside through lane.
  
  The southbound auxiliary lane will extend the exit 143 on ramp and become the new inside through lane. The existing outside through lane will become an exit only lane that will end at the exit 141 off-ramp.
  
  As of 2016, between 63,000 and 70,000 vehicles travel this section of I-81 each day, making it the most heavily travelled portion of I-81 in Virginia.

http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/salem/interstate_81_northbound_and_southbound_auxiliary_lanes-_roanoke_county.asp

Sadly for those who have to travel in/through this mix of local and through traffic, the project won't start until 2021. It is only a small step, too, since it will only cover the section between the exit for I-581 to Roanoke and the VA 419 exit for Salem. To be helpful, additional lanes (both C/D and regular travel lanes) are needed between Exit 150 at Troutville and Exit 118 at Christiansburg (the three lanes from Ironto south to C'burg help, but a third lane down the mountain [norhtbound] could help with the regular wrecks that block traffic there).

Bruce in Blacksburg

[Beltway]

Sadly for those who have to travel in/through this mix of local and through traffic, the project won't start until 2021. It is only a small step, too, since it will only cover the section between the exit for I-581 to Roanoke and the VA 419 exit for Salem. To be helpful, additional lanes (both C/D and regular travel lanes) are needed between Exit 150 at Troutville and Exit 118 at Christiansburg (the three lanes from Ironto south to C'burg help, but a third lane down the mountain [norhtbound] could help with the regular wrecks that block traffic there).
Bruce in Blacksburg

The project will certainly help, but what is really needed is 8 lanes (4 each way) on I-81 between Exit 150 at Troutville and Exit 118 at Christiansburg.

[plain]

I'll agree that I-81 in that area could definitely use some widening but 8 lanes may be far fetched given the terrain. The state has been talking about 8 lanes forever it seems and those talks have gone nowhere.

[vtstormchaser]

Saw my first double left turn FYA installation in Virginia over the weekend at the Fishersville exit on I-64 (Exit 91). The double left turn from Tinkling Spring Rd northbound to I-64 WB has been swapped over to two FYA heads. I had heard the NW region was looking into this, especially at interstate exits. I'd expect to start seeing this more in the coming months.

[jakeroot]

Saw my first double left turn FYA installation in Virginia over the weekend at the Fishersville exit on I-64 (Exit 91). The double left turn from Tinkling Spring Rd northbound to I-64 WB has been swapped over to two FYA heads. I had heard the NW region was looking into this, especially at interstate exits. I'd expect to start seeing this more in the coming months.

https://i.imgur.com/5EoDYEy.jpg

Nice! Seems so odd to see these in Virginia, a state with hardly any double right turns on red (and therefore reads as being rather conservative with permissive movements).

https://goo.gl/YFi5e7 -- according to this document from VDOT, the Northwest region has no official guidelines for left turn phasing. So, no real surprise to see this phasing pop up where it has.

[Jmiles32]

I-81 C/D Lanes coming to Roanoke -- in 2024

Monday's Roanoke Times had an ad for an upcoming design public hearing session in the Salem District on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, 4:30 — 6:30 p.m. at Northside High School. The page for the project explains:

• This $62-million project will add an additional lane along northbound and southbound I-81 between exit 141 (Salem) and exit 143 (Roanoke) in Roanoke County.
  
  Adding a two-mile auxiliary lane in both directions will alleviate congestion and provide for safer traffic movements at these exits.
  
  The primary purpose of this project is to alleviate congestion and provide for safer northbound and southbound merge movements between exits 141 and 143.
  
  As part of the project, sound walls will be considered along northbound I-81.
  
  The northbound auxiliary lane will connect the exit 141 on-ramp directly to the exit 143 off-ramp and will be constructed along, and adjacent to, the existing outside through lane.
  
  The southbound auxiliary lane will extend the exit 143 on ramp and become the new inside through lane. The existing outside through lane will become an exit only lane that will end at the exit 141 off-ramp.
  
  As of 2016, between 63,000 and 70,000 vehicles travel this section of I-81 each day, making it the most heavily travelled portion of I-81 in Virginia.

http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/salem/interstate_81_northbound_and_southbound_auxiliary_lanes-_roanoke_county.asp

Sadly for those who have to travel in/through this mix of local and through traffic, the project won't start until 2021. It is only a small step, too, since it will only cover the section between the exit for I-581 to Roanoke and the VA 419 exit for Salem. To be helpful, additional lanes (both C/D and regular travel lanes) are needed between Exit 150 at Troutville and Exit 118 at Christiansburg (the three lanes from Ironto south to C'burg help, but a third lane down the mountain [norhtbound] could help with the regular wrecks that block traffic there).

Bruce in Blacksburg

http://wset.com/news/local/exclusive-va-secretary-of-transportation-talks-road-plans

Aubrey Layne, the state Secretary of Transportation says Virginia is working on a plan to expand Interstate 81, saying "We're working with the legislature to determine what we can do, but in the interim, we're using every nickel we can to make improvements on 81."

Is the mentioned I-81 expansion here^ the same expansion planned for Roanoke? Or if it isn't, is it yet more I-81 talk that will eventually end up getting nowhere?  Definitely would like to see some sort of I-81 expansion proposal/plan before Governor McAuliffe leaves office.

[froggie]

Fishersville = Staunton District.  If that district is considering additional dual-lane FYA, start to look for them in Staunton, Harrisonburg, and Winchester....I believe they also cover the US 340 corridor north of Front Royal.

@Jmiles32:  what Aubrey Layne is likely referring to is the long-standing idea (going back numerous years now) of widening all of I-81 in Virginia.  The project recently announced could be considered a sub-part of that, but is better argued as a safety improvement (a fair number of crashes at the 81/581 interchange because of the forced merging).