VIRGINIA BEACH — The Virginia Department of Transportation announced Friday that it will begin searching for a private sector partner to deliver its Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion project.
VDOT issued a Request for Qualifications for interested teams to share their capabilities and experience to best deliver the HRBT as a design-build contract under the Public-Private Transportation Act. The current project planning estimate is between $3.3 and $3.8 billion, which will be refined as the scope is more fully developed, VDOT said in a news release.
The announcement comes after VDOT’s briefing to the Commonwealth Transportation Board on Dec. 6, and the Transportation Public-Private Partnership Steering Committee on Dec. 12.
VDOT said the Interstate 64 Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel in southeastern Virginia has long been one of the region’s most congested corridors. The existing 3.5-mile facility consists of two 2-lane immersed-tube tunnels on artificial islands, with trestle bridges to shore.
The tunnels were opened in 1957 (current westbound lanes) and 1976 (eastbound lanes) and are about 7,500 feet long.
VDOT said traffic on these four lanes exceeds 100,000 vehicles per day during peak summer traffic.
The HRBT Expansion project looks to build another bridge-tunnel and widen the four-lane segments of I-64 in Hampton and Norfolk to ease daily congestion between the Peninsula and South Hampton Roads — a corridor that is vital to Virginia’s economy, military readiness and regional connectivity.
VDOT said it will use RFQ responses to determine proposers’ qualifications to design and construct this complex project. For the tunnel portion of the work, teams may present their capabilities in immersed-tube tunneling, bored tunneling or both methods.
RFQ responses are due to VDOT by March 2, 2018, with qualified short-listed teams to be notified in April 2018.
The RFP process is anticipated to start in spring 2018, with the contract award planned for early 2019. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2019 and reach completion in 2024.
VDOT said the expanded HRBT will become part of a future regional network of Express Lanes, as presented to the CTB in July 2017, with free lanes remaining available to all motorists at all times.
The majority of project funding will be provided by the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission, with federal support and other resources, according to VDOT’s release.
For more information on the HRBT Expansion, visit VDOT’s website.
