HD27 - Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and U.S. Route 17

  • Published: 1990
  • Author: Department of Transportation
  • Enabling Authority: House Joint Resolution 404 (Regular Session, 1989)

Executive Summary:
As requested by House Joint Resolution No. 404, passed by the 1989 General Assembly, the Department of Transportation has conducted a study on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, the I-64 corridor, and the U.S. Route 17 travel corridor. The study identifies the traffic safety and traffic congestion problems and outlines both the programmed improvements and the long-range transportation plans to solve these problems.

I-64 Corridor

The I-64 corridor, which includes the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, is a vital transportation link for the cities of Hampton Roads. The I-64 corridor serves large commercial, industrial, and employment centers. It also carries heavy volumes of truck traffic as well as tourist traffic destined to the Virginia and North Carolina resort areas. Because of the heavy travel demand, I-64 often operates at a level of service F (a stop and go condition for traffic).

To increase the vehicular capacity across Hampton Roads, the Commonwealth Transportation Board has programmed $125 million for projects to complete I-664. The Commonwealth Transportation Board has also placed a high priority on the I-64 corridor by programming $140,246,000 for projects over the next six years. The funding to complete I-664 is committed; however, on I-64 only $86,366,000 is currently available for allocation to the improvements projects. The remaining funds are pending federal legislation in 1991 and $15 million to be allocated after 1995. If Congress reduces future Interstate funds below the level currently available to the Commonwealth, there will be a negative impact on I-64 as well as other Interstate projects in the program. In brief, the federal and state funding is not currently available to finance all the needed projects on I-64 within the time frame of VDOT's Six Year Transportation Improvement Program.

After all of the projects in the Six Year Transportation Improvement Program have been constructed, additional improvements will be needed on I-64 to serve the Year 2010 travel demand. Therefore, VDOT's 2010 Statewide Transportation Plan recommends the following improvements which are estimated to cost $1,379,726,000.

• 8 lanes on I-64 from I-664 in the City of Hampton to I-564 in the City of Norfolk (this includes 8 lanes on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel)

• 10 lanes including reversible HOV lanes on I-64 from I-564 to Indian River Road in the City of Virginia Beach

• 8 lanes on I-64 for Indian River to I-464 in the City of Chesapeake

U.S Route 17 Corridor

U.S Route 17 in the southern part of the City of Chesapeake serves approximately 7,300 vehicles per day. Currently the traffic follows Route 17 from North Carolina to the intersection of Route 104; then major traffic follows Route 104 into the urbanized area of the City of Chesapeake. Route 17 is a narrow roadway with 10' travel lanes that cuts through the Great Dismal Swamp and there is very little developed land along the corridor. Only three roads connect to Route 17, and there are fewer than five dwellings and only two commercial establishments on this section.

Because Route 17 was built on marshlands, there are many areas where settlement has created depressions in the pavement. These depressions give the driver a "roller coaster feeling" and may have contributed to accidents over the years. Trees have overgrown the corridor and in the summer months, when the foliage is out, visibility is a problem and drivers are cautioned to use headlights for greater visibility. Route 104 between Route 17 and I-464 is a two lane roadway with 24' of pavement built on the ultimate 200' of right-of-way needed for a future 4-lane facility. The existing traffic volumes on Route 104 range from 4,850 vehicles per day just north of Route 17 to 12,900 vehicles per day at Bainbridge Boulevard. The most significant accident problem on Route 104 is at the intersection of Route 17. To correct this problem, the Commonwealth Transportation Board has programmed a project costing $3,000,000 to realign Route 17 to tie directly into Route 104 for the north-south traffic flow in this area.

The Statewide Transportation Plan recommends improving Route 17 to four lanes from North Carolina to Route 104 and providing similar improvements on Route 104 to the intersection of Cedar Road. North of Cedar Road to I-464, Route 104 is recommended to be improved to six lanes. The total cost of these improvements is estimated to be $67.6 million. To initiate the improvements on U.S. Route 17, the Commonwealth Transportation Board has programmed $300,000 to begin the preliminary engineering on the 5.4 mile section beginning at the North Carolina state line.