Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel
Encyclopedia
The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) is the 3.5 miles (5.6 km)-long Hampton Roads
crossing for Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 60. It is a four-lane facility comprising bridge
s, trestles, man-made islands, and tunnels under the main shipping channels for Hampton Roads
harbor in the southeastern portion of Virginia
in the United States
.
It connects the historic Phoebus
area of the independent city of Hampton
near Fort Monroe
on the Virginia Peninsula
with Willoughby Spit
in the city of Norfolk
in South Hampton Roads
, and is part of the Hampton Roads Beltway
.
The HRBT has two 12 feet (3.7 m)-wide (3.7 m) lanes each way, on separately built bridge-tunnel
structures. The original two-lane structure replaced a ferry
system and opened November 1, 1957 at a cost of $44 million dollars as a toll
facility. The bridge-tunnel was originally signed as State Route 168 and U.S. Route 60. It later received the Interstate 64 designation, and, much later, SR 168 was truncated south of the crossing.
The construction of the original HRBT was funded with toll revenue bond
s. The bonds were paid off before a second portion was opened in 1976.
The construction of the $95 million second portion of the HRBT was funded as part of the Interstate Highway System
as authorized under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, as a portion of I-64, which means that it was funded with 90% FHWA funds from the Highway Trust Fund and 10% state DOT funds. When the second span was opened to traffic, the tolls were removed from the earlier portion.
The I-64 HRBT has two man-made tunnel portal islands, at the place where Hampton Roads flows into the Chesapeake Bay
. The two man-made tunnel portal islands were widened to the west to accommodate the parallel bridge-tunnel project work accomplished between 1972 and 1976.
The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel south portal island connects to preexisting land, about 20 acres (8 ha) of land that is the site of Fort Wool
, a fort during the American Civil War
, World War I
and World War II
, and a public park
since 1970. Fort Wool is on a man-made island known as Rip Raps
, created in 1818. There is a small earthen causeway
that connects Fort Wool to the HRBT south portal island.
The current westbound tunnel is the original tunnel constructed in 1957 and has a lower clearance than the newer eastbound tube built in the 1970s—13'6" (4.1 m) as opposed to 14'6" (4.4 m). There have been several accidents and at least one fatality arising from this anomaly. Special over-height detectors have been installed near the Willoughby Spit
end to help prevent future incidents.
Given its proximity to the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Fleet home base at Naval Station Norfolk
, many nearby shipyards and critical port facilities, the HRBT design incorporates a tunnel instead of a more cost effective drawbridge
. A bridge-tunnel, if destroyed in wartime or due to natural disaster, would not block the vital shipping channels.
Another four-lane facility, the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel
(MMMBT) was completed in 1992. The MMMBT provided a second bridge-tunnel crossing of the Hampton Roads harbor, supplementing the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and providing some traffic relief. The MMMBT also forms part of the Hampton Roads Beltway
, and is also toll-free.
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 holiday, to divert and go through the MMMBT or the James River Bridge
, the only alternate routes to get to the Peninsula
. The MMMBT had troubles of its own during the afternoon, as a pileup shut down the westbound lanes, closing the tunnel and causing a 20-mile 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
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, as the HRBT, MMMBT and the James River Bridge serve as the primary hurricane evacuation route
s for residents of Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Chesapeake.
A long range plan to be funded by the Hampton Roads Transportation Authority
(HRTA) would add more lanes to portions of the other major bridge-tunnel across the harbor, the MMMBT (on the western part of the Beltway), and provide new direct access to Norfolk, effectively providing a "third crossing" of Hampton Roads.
Some critics of that plan are concerned that the plan may provide little relief to the HRBT. However, as the HRBT has longer tunnel sections, adding additional capacity with new tube(s) would be more costly than many alternatives. Possible solutions suggested to relieve the HRBT include variable tolls to be highest during peak periods, to encourage motorists to select alternate routes or times of day. Enhanced mass transit services may also provide more affordable relief.
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
crossing for Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 60. It is a four-lane facility comprising bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
s, trestles, man-made islands, and tunnels under the main shipping channels for Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
harbor in the southeastern portion of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
It connects the historic Phoebus
Phoebus, Virginia
Phoebus was an incorporated town located in Elizabeth City County on the Virginia Peninsula in eastern Virginia. Upon incorporation in 1900, it was named in honor of local businessman Harrison Phoebus , who is credited with convincing the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway to extend its tracks to the...
area of the independent city of Hampton
Hampton, Virginia
Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
near Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe was a military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula...
on the Virginia Peninsula
Virginia Peninsula
The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay.Hampton Roads is the common name for the metropolitan area that surrounds the body of water of the same name...
with Willoughby Spit
Willoughby Spit
Willoughby Spit is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States. It is bordered by water on three sides: the Chesapeake Bay to the north, Hampton Roads to the west, and Willoughby Bay to the south.- History :...
in the city of Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
in South Hampton Roads
South Hampton Roads
South Hampton Roads is a region located in the extreme southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States, and is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA with a population about 1.7 million....
, and is part of the Hampton Roads Beltway
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 of the same name in the southeastern portion of Virginia in...
.
History
A man-made island across the navigational channel of the mouth of Hampton Roads from Old Point Comfort was created for Fort Calhoun (a portion of the Fort Monroe complex later renamed Fort Wool). This man-made island found a new purpose in 1957, when it was used to anchor the south part of the Hampton Roads Bridge-tunnel.The HRBT has two 12 feet (3.7 m)-wide (3.7 m) lanes each way, on separately built bridge-tunnel
Bridge-tunnel
A fixed link, fixed crossing, or bridge-tunnel is a persistent, unbroken road or rail connection across water that uses some combination of bridges, tunnels, and causeways and does not involve intermittent connections such as drawbridges or ferries.The Confederation Bridge was commonly referred to...
structures. The original two-lane structure replaced a ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
system and opened November 1, 1957 at a cost of $44 million dollars as a toll
Toll bridge
A toll bridge is a bridge over which traffic may pass upon payment of a toll, or fee.- History :The practice of collecting tolls on bridges probably harks back to the days of ferry crossings where people paid a fee to be ferried across stretches of water. As boats became impractical to carry large...
facility. The bridge-tunnel was originally signed as State Route 168 and U.S. Route 60. It later received the Interstate 64 designation, and, much later, SR 168 was truncated south of the crossing.
The construction of the original HRBT was funded with toll revenue bond
Toll revenue bond
A toll revenue bond is a financial promissory note usually issued to generate funds for the construction and/or operation of a public accommodation such as an expressway, bridge, or tunnel...
s. The bonds were paid off before a second portion was opened in 1976.
The construction of the $95 million second portion of the HRBT was funded as part of the Interstate Highway System
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
as authorized under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, as a portion of I-64, which means that it was funded with 90% FHWA funds from the Highway Trust Fund and 10% state DOT funds. When the second span was opened to traffic, the tolls were removed from the earlier portion.
The I-64 HRBT has two man-made tunnel portal islands, at the place where Hampton Roads flows into the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
. The two man-made tunnel portal islands were widened to the west to accommodate the parallel bridge-tunnel project work accomplished between 1972 and 1976.
The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel south portal island connects to preexisting land, about 20 acres (8 ha) of land that is the site of Fort Wool
Fort Wool
Fort Wool was the companion to Fort Monroe in protecting Hampton Roads from seafaring threats. This site was once the dumping place for ships’ ballast....
, a fort during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and a public park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
since 1970. Fort Wool is on a man-made island known as Rip Raps
Rip Raps
Rip Raps is a small 15 acre artificial island at the mouth of the harbor area known as Hampton Roads in the independent city of Hampton in southeastern Virginia in the United States.-History:...
, created in 1818. There is a small earthen causeway
Causeway
In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...
that connects Fort Wool to the HRBT south portal island.
The current westbound tunnel is the original tunnel constructed in 1957 and has a lower clearance than the newer eastbound tube built in the 1970s—13'6" (4.1 m) as opposed to 14'6" (4.4 m). There have been several accidents and at least one fatality arising from this anomaly. Special over-height detectors have been installed near the Willoughby Spit
Willoughby Spit
Willoughby Spit is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States. It is bordered by water on three sides: the Chesapeake Bay to the north, Hampton Roads to the west, and Willoughby Bay to the south.- History :...
end to help prevent future incidents.
Given its proximity to the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Fleet home base at Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
, many nearby shipyards and critical port facilities, the HRBT design incorporates a tunnel instead of a more cost effective drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
. A bridge-tunnel, if destroyed in wartime or due to natural disaster, would not block the vital shipping channels.
Another four-lane facility, the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel
Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel
Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel is the 4.6 mile-long Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 664 in the southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States...
(MMMBT) was completed in 1992. The MMMBT provided a second bridge-tunnel crossing of the Hampton Roads harbor, supplementing the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and providing some traffic relief. The MMMBT also forms part of the Hampton Roads Beltway
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 of the same name in the southeastern portion of Virginia in...
, and is also toll-free.
July 2009 flood
In July 2009, the westbound tube partially flooded after a thunderstormThunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
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 holiday, to divert and go through the MMMBT or the James River Bridge
James River Bridge
The James River Bridge is a four-lane divided highway lift bridge across the James River in the U.S. state of Virginia. Owned and operated by the Virginia Department of Transportation, it carries U.S. Route 17, U.S. Route 258, and State Route 32 across the river near its mouth at Hampton Roads...
, the only alternate routes to get to the Peninsula
Virginia Peninsula
The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay.Hampton Roads is the common name for the metropolitan area that surrounds the body of water of the same name...
. The MMMBT had troubles of its own during the afternoon, as a pileup shut down the westbound lanes, closing the tunnel and causing a 20-mile traffic jam
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
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
Perfect storm
A "perfect storm" is an expression that describes an event where a rare combination of circumstances will aggravate a situation drastically. The term is also used to describe an actual phemonenon that happens to occur in such a confluence, resulting in an event of unusual magnitude.-Origin:First ...
" of traffic which led to gridlock
Gridlock
The term gridlock is defined as "A state of severe road congestion arising when continuous queues of vehicles block an entire network of intersecting streets, bringing traffic in all directions to a complete standstill; a traffic jam of this kind." The term originates from a situation possible in...
throughout all major arteries of Hampton Roads.
The flooding of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel caused widespread concern about evacuation
Emergency evacuation
Emergency evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a building due to a bomb threat or fire to the large scale evacuation of a district because of a flood, bombardment or...
capabilities of the region during the approach of a hurricane, as the HRBT, MMMBT and the James River Bridge serve as the primary hurricane evacuation route
Hurricane evacuation route
A hurricane evacuation route is a highway in the United States that is a specified route for hurricane evacuation.Along the Gulf Coast, hurricane evacuation routes lead north and west for up to hundreds of miles to the safest major city. Along the Atlantic Coast, routes lead west. They are marked...
s for residents of Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Chesapeake.
Future plans
According to VDOT, in 1958, an average of 6,000 vehicles a day used the facility. Almost 50 years later, an average of 88,000 vehicles a day were using the crossing, with volumes exceeding 100,000 during the tourist season.A long range plan to be funded by the Hampton Roads Transportation Authority
Hampton Roads Transportation Authority
Hampton Roads Transportation Authority is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States that has the responsibility for funding several major traffic projects in the Hampton Roads area...
(HRTA) would add more lanes to portions of the other major bridge-tunnel across the harbor, the MMMBT (on the western part of the Beltway), and provide new direct access to Norfolk, effectively providing a "third crossing" of Hampton Roads.
Some critics of that plan are concerned that the plan may provide little relief to the HRBT. However, as the HRBT has longer tunnel sections, adding additional capacity with new tube(s) would be more costly than many alternatives. Possible solutions suggested to relieve the HRBT include variable tolls to be highest during peak periods, to encourage motorists to select alternate routes or times of day. Enhanced mass transit services may also provide more affordable relief.