Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel
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The Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel (HRBT) is a
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...
crossing for Interstate 64 (I-64) and US Route 60 (US 60). It is a four-lane facility comprising
bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
s, trestles, artificial islands, and
tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
s under the main shipping channels for Hampton Roads harbor in the southeastern portion of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It connects the historic Phoebus area of the independent city of Hampton near
Fort Monroe Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth o ...
on the Virginia Peninsula with Willoughby Spit in the city of
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
in
South Hampton Roads South Hampton Roads is a region located in the extreme southeastern portion of Virginia's Tidewater region in the United States with a total population of 1,177,742 as of 2020. It is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA ( M ...
and is part of the
Hampton Roads Beltway The Hampton Roads Beltway is a loop of Interstate 64 and Interstate 664, which links the communities of the Virginia Peninsula and South Hampton Roads which surround the body of water known as Hampton Roads and comprise much of the region o ...
.


History and design

Prior to the opening of the HRBT (and well before even the HRBT's counterpart the
Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel The Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel (MMMBT) is the Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 664 (I-664) in the southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States. It is a four-lane bridge–tunnel composed of bridges, trestle ...
, or MMMBT), the
Virginia Department of Transportation The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is the agency of the U.S. state, state government responsible for transportation in the state of Virginia in the United States. VDOT is headquartered at the Virginia Department of Highways Buildin ...
(VDOT) operated ferries to carry vehicle traffic across the harbor from the Southside to the peninsula. There were two routes: one from Hampton Boulevard near
Naval Station Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Ham ...
to downtown Newport News, and a second, less popular route from Willoughby Spit to
Fort Monroe Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth o ...
in Hampton. Traffic at the time was typically about 2500 vehicles per day. The original two-lane structure opened November 1, 1957, at a cost of $44 million (equivalent to $ in ) as a toll facility. The tunnel Norfolk to Hampton had a clearance of . VDOT currently has identified new systems to improve the overheight detection system, by detecting vehicles well in advance of the tunnel to cut down on the over heights approaching the tunnel, This project is estimated to cost the state $900,000. The HRBT had two lanes each way, on separately built bridge–tunnel structures. The bridge–tunnel was originally signed as State Route 168 (SR 168) and US 60. It later received the I-64 designation when the second span opened in 1976, and, much later, SR 168 was truncated south of the crossing. The centerline of the HRBT tunnels crosses a naturally deep channel ranging from deep and wide, with water only deep between the edge of the deep channel and each shore. The HRBT includes two artificial islands for the tunnel portals, where Hampton Roads flows into
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...
. The south portal island is about north of Willoughby Spit. It is connected by an earthen
causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...
to Rip Raps, a artificial island to the northeast, built in 1817 as part of the harbor defenses. The north portal island is about west of Old Point Comfort. However, the northern bridge section of the HRBT runs north to the mainland of Hampton. Given its proximity to the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet home base at
Naval Station Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Ham ...
, many nearby shipyards and critical port facilities, the HRBT design incorporates a tunnel instead of a more cost effective
drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...
. A bridge–tunnel, if destroyed in wartime or due to natural disaster, would not block the vital shipping channels. Another four-lane facility, the MMMBT was completed in 1992. The MMMBT provided a second bridge–tunnel crossing of the Hampton Roads harbor, supplementing the HRBT and providing some traffic relief. The MMMBT also forms part of the
Hampton Roads Beltway The Hampton Roads Beltway is a loop of Interstate 64 and Interstate 664, which links the communities of the Virginia Peninsula and South Hampton Roads which surround the body of water known as Hampton Roads and comprise much of the region o ...
.


Widening to four lanes

A second bridge-tunnel was necessary with the construction of I-64 in the area. Work on this expansion began in 1972, and it was opened on November 1, 1976, the nineteenth anniversary of the first structures completion. The old bridge-tunnel was subsequently closed for renovations and reopened in 1977. With this, the crossing was a four lane, toll free facility, thus netting
Interstate Highway standards Standards for Interstate Highways in the United States are defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the publication ''A Policy on Design Standards: Interstate System''. For a certain highway t ...
.


Over-height vehicles

The current westbound tunnel from Norfolk to Hampton is the original tunnel constructed in 1957 and has a lower clearance than the eastbound tube, as it is in comparison to . Because of this, special over-height detectors have been installed near the Willoughby Spit end of the bridge alerting the truck driver to stop at the inspection station for a more precise measurement of the truck's height. If a truck driver ignores this alert or for whatever reason does not stop at the inspection station, VDOT personnel at the tunnel will be alerted and the truck will be alerted and flagged to stop prior to the tunnel entrance, where a fine up to $2,500 may be assessed if the over height occurs during rush hour. This is because any vehicle turnaround at the tunnel requires a full-stoppage of traffic in both directions in order to redirect the affected vehicle from one side of the bridge–tunnel to the other. VDOT currently has identified new systems to improve the overheight detection system, by detecting vehicles well in advance of the tunnel to cut down on the over heights approaching the tunnel, This project is estimated to cost the state $900,000.


July 2009 flood

In July 2009, the westbound tube partially flooded after a
thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...
hit the Hampton Roads region. The flooding was caused by a failed water main, which burst and led a chamber below the tunnel roadway to fill with millions of gallons of water. Pumps designed to remove water from the chamber were overwhelmed, and water began to puddle on the roadway, forcing VDOT to close the tunnel for nearly seven hours during midday on July 2, 2009. This closure forced hundreds of thousands of commuters, tourists, as well as Hampton Roads residents heading westbound for the
Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...
holiday, to divert and go through the MMMBT or the James River Bridge, the only alternate routes to get to the
peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
. The MMMBT had troubles of its own during the afternoon, as a multiple-vehicle collision shut down the northbound lanes, closing the tunnel and causing a traffic jam along I-664. The James River Bridge was also closed on July 2 because of downed wires from the storm. The series of events involving all three water crossings led to a " perfect storm" of traffic which led to
gridlock Gridlock is a form of traffic congestion where continuous queues of vehicles block an entire network of intersecting streets, bringing traffic in all directions to a complete standstill. The term originates from a situation possible in a grid ...
throughout all major arteries of Hampton Roads. The flooding of the Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel caused widespread concern about evacuation capabilities of the region during the approach of a
hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
, as the HRBT, MMMBT, and the James River Bridge serve as the primary
hurricane evacuation route Hurricane evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hurricane. County judges, emergency managers and other officials may recommend a voluntary evacuation or order a mandatory evacuati ...
s for residents of
Virginia Beach Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...
,
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
, Norfolk, and Chesapeake.


July 2016 vehicle crash and fire

At 7:30 pm on July 16, 2016, a two-car collision between a Volkswagen Passat and an Acura occurred three-quarters of the way inside the eastbound tunnel, which travels from Hampton to Norfolk. The Acura was struck from the rear by the Passat; both vehicles burst into flames and filled the tunnel with smoke, leaving 35 vehicles stuck inside the tunnel behind the scene. Because neither of the tunnels have escape walkways, 80 drivers and passengers were required to walk out of the tunnel through the smoke, leaving their vehicles behind. While four others were taken to the hospital, 15 people were treated on the scene for smoke inhalation. The fires caused moderate to major damage to the walls of the tunnel, which VDOT repaired through nightly road work at the tunnel. The crash shut down traffic in both directions for four hours, finally reopening westbound at 11:00 pm, and reopening eastbound at 11:45 pm. The driver of the Passat was cited with following too closely by
Virginia State Police The Virginia State Police, officially the Virginia Department of State Police, conceived in 1919 and established in 1932, is the state police force for the U.S. state of Virginia. The agency originated out of the Virginia Department of Motor Ve ...
.


Widening to eight lanes

According to
Virginia Department of Transportation The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is the agency of the U.S. state, state government responsible for transportation in the state of Virginia in the United States. VDOT is headquartered at the Virginia Department of Highways Buildin ...
(VDOT), in 1958, an average of 6,000 vehicles a day used the facility whereas an average of 88,000 vehicles a day were using the crossing in 2008, with volumes exceeding 100,000 during the tourist season, well exceeding the original design capacity of 77,000 vehicles per day, which sparked decades of debate on how to improve traffic flow at the region's most important water crossing. Studies into the growing traffic at the HRBT have roots back to the early 1990s. In 1992, the
Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...
had requested that VDOT study growing traffic at the HRBT. The conclusion of that study determined that a long-term large-scale solution to the problem would be required to alleviate backups. For the next 14 years, VDOT would undertake numerous studies in 1999, 2008, 2012, and 2016 to help choose a candidate build that was financially and physically feasible to build. After nearly two decades of studies and planning, the
Commonwealth Transportation Board The Commonwealth Transportation Board, formerly the State Highway and Transportation Board, regulates and funds transportation in Virginia. It supervises the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the Department of Rail and Public Transp ...
, and the two regional boards responsible for the project ( Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission/HRTPO) voted unanimously in 2016 to a $3.3-billion expansion of the current bridge–tunnel and its approaches from four lanes total to four lanes in both directions from the I-664 interchange to the I-564 interchange, with two new, two lane bridge–tunnels built to carry traffic eastbound ( Hampton to Norfolk). A final environmental impact study was published in May 2017, and the record of decision from the
FHWA The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
was granted in June. On October 29, 2020, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in Hampton for the project. It was expected to be completed by November 2025 but this was later changed to 2027. On April 17, 2024, a 430-foot-long boring machine broke through a concrete-lined pit on North Island, finishing the outline of the new westbound tunnel.


See also

* * * * List of bridges *
Lists of tunnels A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
* List of bridge–tunnels


References


External links


Roads to the Future website

Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel on Google Maps


* ttp://www.virginiadot.org/travel/hro-tunnel-default.asp Virginia Department of Transportation: Hampton Roads Tunnels and Bridges {{DEFAULTSORT:Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Bridge–tunnels in North America Bridges completed in 1957 Intracoastal Waterway Transportation in Norfolk, Virginia Road tunnels in Virginia U.S. Route 60 Buildings and structures in Norfolk, Virginia Buildings and structures in Hampton, Virginia Former toll bridges in Virginia Former toll tunnels in the United States Transportation in Hampton, Virginia Tunnels completed in 1957 Tunnels completed in 1976 Road bridges in Virginia Interstate 64 Bridges on the Interstate Highway System Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Former toll roads in Virginia Cross-sea traffic ways in North America Immersed tube tunnels in the United States Crossings of the James River (Virginia) Trestle bridges in the United States