The Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization Board voted Thursday to add the widening of Interstate 64 from Lee Hall to Lightfoot to its long-range plan.
The move signals the Virginia Department and Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration it is time to start preliminary work on figuring out how to go from four to six lanes in that stretch.
The vote tells VDOT and FHWA officials to begin refining cost estimates to attain more precise figures, to evaluate potential ways to finance the project and to explore ways it could be built.
That stretch of the I-64 widening is broken into two phases: One runs from Lee Hall (Exit 247) to the Water Country USA Route 199 interchange (Exit 242) and the other runs from there to the other Route 199 interchange (Exit 234).
The board’s vote also added the revamping of the Fort Eustis Boulevard interchange (Exit 250) to the long-range plan. That project, estimated to cost $150 million, would completely rebuild the interchange, replacing the current cloverleaf design with one that offers more space to motorists merging on and off I-64.
The HRTPO board, a regional body of elected officials and municipal staff members from throughout Hampton Roads, is tasked with identifying large transportation projects with a regional benefit. According to federal law, a transportation planning organization like HRTPO must add a regionally significant project to its long-range plan before approval will be granted for the project to commence.
The board was also tasked with allocating funds generated in the area by last year’s sweeping overhaul of transportation in Virginia, but that authority as of July 1 has shifted to the newly created Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission. HRTAC includes several HRTPO members and three representatives from the Historic Triangle: York County Supervisor Donald Wiggins, James City County Supervisor Mary Jones and Williamsburg Mayor Clyde Haulman.
Prior to the July 1 shift of control over funding to the accountability commission, HRTPO committed $44 million of funding to the first phase of I-64 widening, which runs from near Jefferson Avenue (Exit 255) to near Lee Hall. The Commonwealth Transportation Board, which oversees state money invested in large-scale transportation projects, committed the remaining $100 million necessary to bring the $144 million first phase to fruition.
The first phase is expected to be complete by 2018. A contractor is expected to be announced later this year.
HRTAC will now work with VDOT, FHWA and the state to determine both how to fund the projects in the long-term plan and how to use the approximately $200 million per year expected to be generated by the Hampton Roads region due to taxes and fees associated with the 2013 transportation overhaul.
A timetable for when work could begin is not yet available, though HRTPO Interim Director Camelia Ravanbakht noted some projects are in more advanced stages than others. The second phase of I-64 widening, for example, is closer to being ready for construction than some of the other projects in the long-range plan.
Phase two of the I-64 widening is projected to cost $116 million, while phase three comes in at $90 million. In all, widening I-64 from near Jefferson Avenue to Lightfoot and improving the Fort Eustis Boulevard interchange is projected to cost $500 million.
The I-64 widening and Fort Eustis Boulevard interchange projects are not the only projects the HRTPO board added to the long-range plan on Thursday, but they are the only items with a connection to the Historic Triangle.
Other projects added last week include the widening of the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel, the construction of a third crossing from the Monitor-Merrimac to Norfolk, improvements to I-64, Interstate 264 and Interstate 664 on the Southside and improvements to U.S. 460. The combined estimated cost of those projects is $8.5 billion.
The figure is $500 million higher than the $8 billion of revenue projected to be generated in Hampton Roads by 2040 for use on local projects. The difference is expected to be made up by federal funds, state funds and a portion of statewide funds from the transportation reform, according to a presentation from last week’s HRTPO meeting. Tolls could also be considered.
The next step is for HRTAC to begin its deliberations about funding. No timetable has been established for that, though the newly created commission is scheduled to meet Sept. 29 in Chesapeake.
The HRTPO board also received an update on projects that could be included in the next long range transportation plan. While the current plan forecasts to 2034, the next plan will look as far as 2040.
Among the projects from the Historic Triangle that could make it on that list is a widening of George Washington Memorial Highway (Route 17) from the Coleman Bridge to the Newport News line, a widening of Denbigh Boulevard from Independence Boulevard in Newport News to Route 17, a widening of Victory Boulevard from Hampton Highway to Wythe Creek Road in Poquoson, a widening of Longhill Road and a widening of Croaker Road.
Related Coverage:
- VDOT Hosts Public Hearing on I-64 Widening
- VDOT Schedules Public Hearing for I-64 Widening
- VDOT: I-64 Could Be Six Lanes from Jefferson to Lee Hall by Winter 2018
- HRTPO to Consider Widening I-64 to Near Lee Hall
- Proposed I-64 Widening Project Reaches Next Milestone
- VDOT: I-64 Widening Pre-Construction Work Moving at ‘Breakneck Speed’
- With HRTPO Vote, Interstate 64 Widening Could Stretch to Lightfoot
- VDOT: I-64 Widening Will Go From Jefferson Ave. To At Least Ft. Eustis Blvd.
- VDOT Crews Surveying on I-64 to Prepare for Widening Project
- Public-Private Partnership Could Speed Up I-64 Improvements
- I-64 Widening from Williamsburg to Newport News Gains Momentum
- Transportation Bill Signing Likely Clears Way for I-64 Widening
- I-64 Widening Potentially on the Horizon
- Local Officials Push I-64 Widening in Transportation Bill Discussions
- New Lanes on I64? Maybe, as VDOT Hosts First Meeting on Options
