NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — City council received a report from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Tuesday night on the massive Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion project.
The report gave an update on the progress of the $3.8-billion VDOT project.
Now, the project is advancing conceptual designs, which is expected to talk until December 2020.
In the meantime, VDOT is releasing information about its plans to mitigate traffic impacts during construction, as well as the overall project timeline.
The main goal of the HRBT project is to widen the facility and alleviate constant congestion.
VDOT will expand both the north and south island to accommodate the wider lanes. The expansion is expected to take five years to finish.
A boring machine will be used to create the second-largest tunnel opening in North America, making it the largest and most complicated project of its kind in Virginia history.
So who’s funding it? According to VDOT, the Hampton Roads Transportation Fund will foot 95% of the bill, which comes from the regional gas and sales tax. The rest will come from a collection of:
* $108 million from the Virginia Department of Transportation
* $200 million from the Commonwealth’s SMART SCALE program
See this page (http://www.hrbtexpansion.org/environmental_study/revised_joint_permit_application_and_drawings_-_12-23-19.asp) for conceptual drawings of the project, including the alignment of the new bridges and tunnels, from December 23, 2019.Key excerpts:
NORFOLK, Va. - VDOT has reached a critical milestone in the HRBT expansion project.
VDOT issued a Notice to Proceed (NTP) to Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP) to begin building the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion project.
This news comes a month after HRCP received all necessary state and federal permits to start work in waterways and along I-64.
According to HRBT Expansion Project Director Jim Utterback, “Acquiring the permits for a project of this magnitude in 16 months was a remarkable effort. The coordination and collaboration among HRCP, federal and state agencies, and VDOT was a key to the success. Our goal is to continue this collaboration as we issue NTP and move into detailed design and construction of the project.”
In April 2019, the Commonwealth of Virginia signed a comprehensive agreement with HRCP for the $3.8 billion project.
The HRBT expansion project will span 10 miles of interstate from Hampton to Norfolk. The addition of twin two-lane bored tunnels west of the existing tunnels will accommodate four lanes of traffic for a total of eight lanes of capacity across the water.
The project is meant to ease major traffic jams that can be backed up for several miles during the peak summer season.
The expansion project is also designed to enhance safety, improve hurricane evacuation routes, and ensure military and maritime readiness.
The tunnel boring machine is set to launch from the HRBT South Island in early 2022 to begin excavating two new tunnels.
VDOT says motorists will see pile driving activity in the water for the replacement and widening of bridges along the interstate, as early as this fall. Motorists should pay attention to new interstate signs and electronic message boards detailing roadwork ahead and be mindful of crews working behind concrete barriers on the interstate.
Most of the construction and tunneling will occur over a 55-month period between late 2020 and 2025.
The project is expected to bring between 1,200 to 1,500 construction-related jobs to the region.
Looking at the video, am I correct that you will not be able to legally enter or leave the HOT lanes from I-564 to at least VA 169?That is correct. VDOT is currently planning another large project which would extend the HO/T lanes up to I-664 (small distance, but involves a lot of widening and bridge replacements) - which would feature a transition zone (I believe one lane transition between general purpose and HO/T, one lane HO/T through), then tie into converting the existing HOV lane between I-664 and Jefferson Ave into one HO/T lane.
I would think that you want traffic to be able to have an entrance/exit area somewhere south of the beginning of the HRBT. I definitely am fine with not allowing traffic to enter or leave the HOT Lanes while on the HRBT itself.I could support another ingress / egress point, particularly traffic coming from the base exiting out out of Gate 4 onto Bay Ave, giving them an option to hop in. The primary draw though would be from I-564, the majority of the base traffic, entering the lanes. It's not depicted in the animation, but I believe they are planning to construct a direct HO/T connector to I-564.
HAMPTON—Governor Ralph Northam joined the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and state and local leaders to break ground on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) Expansion Project today. The $3.8 billion project will increase tunnel and interstate capacity along 9.9 miles of Interstate 64 between Hampton and Norfolk, reducing congestion and easing access to the Port of Virginia and the world’s largest Naval base.
“For too long, traffic in the Hampton Roads region has bottlenecked at the tunnel,” said Governor Ralph Northam. “Folks in this region deserve an easier, more reliable commute. This is the largest project in our history, and it will ensure that people can move around faster, that commerce flows more easily, and that we finally connect the Peninsula and the Southside. This project will make everyone’s lives easier when it is completed.”
“The world’s best designers, builders, engineers, and technology are converging here in Virginia to build your new tunnel,” said Secretary of Transportation Shannon Valentine. “We are bringing every asset to the table to give people what they may value most—time.”
Virginia crews will use a highly-specialized tunnel boring machine to dig through soil and construct tunnel segments simultaneously. The advanced technology is used in the construction of highly complex projects such as Manhattan’s Second Avenue Subway. The new HRBT is only the fourth roadway project to use this equipment in the United States. The machinery is under construction in Germany and is expected to arrive in Hampton Roads in 2021 for assembly, which will take several months. It is expected to begin tunneling operations in early 2022.
“VDOT is using this advanced boring technology for the first time ever,” said VDOT Commissioner Stephen Brich. “We’re doing it because this is one of the nation’s most important maritime channels, and this technology means less disruption to military and commercial activity, and less impact on marine life.”
The project has received support from the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission (HRTAC), federal, and local partners. Design-build contractor Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP) received Notice to Proceed for full construction activities in September. The project is expected to be completed in November 2025.
“The HRBT expansion project is a great example of how the legislature, VDOT, and HRTAC are working together to achieve a greater vision for transportation in Hampton Roads and provide solutions to bring the region out of gridlock,” said Kevin Page, HRTAC Executive Director.
A Project Administration and Funding Agreement with HRTAC first announced in April 2019 commits 92 percent of locally-sourced funding for the expansion. Additional financing includes $200 million from the Commonwealth’s SMART SCALE program and $108 million from VDOT.
In addition to alleviating congestion for motorists, the completed project will benefit tourism, the Port of Virginia, and the military—three critical industries in Hampton Roads. The expansion is projected to bolster the economic competitiveness of in Hampton Roads with more than $4.6 billion in investments and an estimated 28,000 new jobs over the life of the project.
The Commonwealth has worked to maximize the participation of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) and Small, Women-owned, and Minority-owned (SWaM) businesses across the Commonwealth on the performance of contracts for this historic project. More than 160 DBE and SWaM agreements have been executed so far as part of the project, representing more than $87 million in contract awards.
The HRBT Expansion Project will add twin, two-lane bored tunnels and widen the four-lane segments of Interstate 64 in Hampton between Settlers Landing Road and the Phoebus shoreline, and in Norfolk between the Willoughby shoreline and the I-564 interchange. More than 100,000 vehicles currently use this facility during peak travel periods.
State and regional leaders including Secretary of Transportation Valentine, VDOT Commissioner Stephen Brich, Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck, Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, Suffolk Mayor and HRTAC Chair Linda Johnson, and representatives from VDOT, HRTAC, and HRCP attended the social-distanced groundbreaking event with Governor Northam. Video of the groundbreaking ceremony is available here.
For additional information about the HRBT Expansion Project, visit hrbtexpansion.org.
Now that construction is about to get underway, where would they start? Expanding the terminal islands? Pile driving for the new and/or expanded bridges? Off-site fabrication of the tubes that will eventually be sunken into the channel? At this point I don’t foresee any lane closures or shifts for probably a year or more.I believe some prep work has been occurring around the HRBT in the past few months, haven't been over that way in a while though.
Don't forget to register for the free HRBT Expansion Project Construction Virtual Open House taking place on 1/28 at 5 pm! Learn about upcoming construction activities and timelines & ask the team questions about the project.
— VDOT (@VaDOT) January 26, 2021
Register today ➡️ https://t.co/iqMXYpOZWb pic.twitter.com/8KtwC6g0io