Interstate 64 in Virginia

Infobox road
state=VA
type=Interstate
route=64
length_mi=297.62
length_ref= [ [http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/routefinder/table1.htm Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways as of October 31, 2002] ]
length_round=2
established=1957
direction_a=West
direction_b=East
starting_terminus=
junction=
ending_terminus=
previous_type=
previous_route=63
next_type=
next_route=65

Interstate 64 in Virginia runs west to east through the middle of the state from West Virginia to the Hampton Roads region, a total of 298 miles. It is notable for crossing the mouth of the harbor of Hampton Roads on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, the first bridge-tunnel to incorporate man-made islands. Also noteworthy is a section through Rockfish Gap, a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which was equipped with an innovative system of airport-style runway lighting embedded into the pavement to aid motorists during periods of poor visibility due to fog or other conditions.

Route summary

Entering from West Virginia, I-64 passes through Covington, to Lexington. From Lexington to Staunton I-64 overlaps Interstate 81 in the Shenandoah Valley. From Staunton, I-64 leaves I-81 and passes through Waynesboro and crosses Afton Mountain and passes by Charlottesville to reach Richmond. Through Richmond, I-64 overlaps Interstate 95 for several miles. From Richmond, I-64 continues southeasterly past Williamsburg and through Newport News and Hampton on the Virginia Peninsula to reach the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel which it utilizes to cross the main shipping channel at the entrance to the harbor of Hampton Roads from the Chesapeake Bay. In South Hampton Roads, I-64 passes through Norfolk and a portion of Virginia Beach to end in Chesapeake at Bowers Hill, where it meets both the western terminus of Interstate 264 and the southern terminus of Interstate 664 near the northeastern corner of the Great Dismal Swamp.

History

From the time it was added to the proposed Interregional Highway System, I-64 was to use the U.S. Route 250 alignment west of Richmond. [CTB minutes|09-1945-01, page 12] [, which would be needed anyway to handle traffic. [CTB minutes|04-1958-01, page 23]

The first section of I-64 to open to traffic was in November 1957 with the six-mile section in Hampton from VA-134 Magruder Boulevard to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel [ [http://www.dailypress.com/news/columnists/dp-news_whadda_0211feb11,0,5179891.column Hampton County - dailypress.com ] ] , which had only recently been completed as a two-lane facility built with non-interstate highway toll revenue bond funding. The second tube and four-laning of approaches to the bridge-tunnel was accomplished almost 20 years later later with federal Interstate highway funds and the tolls were removed at that time.

Hampton Roads Beltway

ImageStackRight|200
I-64 east from a point near the Hampton Coliseum forms part of the Hampton Roads Beltway, a circumferential highway which passes through each of the Seven Cities of Hampton Roads. At the terminus of I-64, Interstate 664 begins, passing through Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk before crossing the harbor via the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel to reach Newport News and Hampton, completing the loop. The beltway is signed Inner Loop and Outer Loop to help avoid confusion.

Miscellanea

The eastern terminus of I-64 is not the road's easternmost point. After crossing Hampton Roads through the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and entering Norfolk, the road makes a wide loop toward Virginia Beach and through that city's northwest side. The road then curves toward its final destination on the west side of Chesapeake. From the point where the road enters Chesapeake, I-64 "east" actually runs "westward", ending at a location known as Bowers Hill near the edge of the Great Dismal Swamp where it becomes Interstate 664. Today, I-64 is no longer signed as east or west between Bowers Hill and the east junction with I-264 to limit possible confusion; instead it is signed as the inner or outer loop of the Hampton Roads Beltway. All entrance ramps between these two locations are signed with control cities that differ according to the location of the exit. For inner (eastbound) traffic, Suffolk is the most common control city used, although Norfolk is used at two entrances in Chesapeake to indicate the most direct route to Norfolk (via Interstate 464). For outer (westbound) traffic, Norfolk, Hampton, and Virginia Beach are variously used.

Interstate 64 in the Hampton Roads area is gradually being augmented with HOV-2 lanes. In the 1990s, reversible HOV-2 lanes were added between I-564 and I-264. A relatively simple design, it only allows direct exits to the aforementioned termini, slip ramps beyond them, and an additional pair of slip ramps just west (compass north) of the I-264 interchange. The reversible lanes operate westbound from around midnight to noon and eastbound from around noon to midnight. HOV restrictions are only in place during rush hour periods; at other times, any vehicle may use the lanes except during reversals at noon and midnight. Access is controlled by clock-controlled automated gates, and each ramp has multiple gates to provide a safeguard against malfunction. Beyond the reversible lanes, increasing lengths of Interstate 64 (and its spur routes) are receiving HOV-designated left lanes, subject to restrictions during rush hours. Such extensions are ongoing.

Since 2006, from Exit 200 (Interstate 295) to Exit 273 (U.S. Route 60 east of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel), a contraflow lane reversal system is in place to hasten an evacuation of the Hampton Roads area. Hurricane gates are installed at eastbound Interstate 64 entrance and exit ramps, and crossover roads are in place near the aforementioned exits. During a hurricane evacuation, the eastbound lanes of I-64 will be reversed into westbound lanes so hundreds of thousands of residents can evacuate. [Richmond Times-Dispatch, [http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137835675317 Va. prepares for hurricanes] , April 30, 2006]

Interstate 64 has two three-digit bypasses that are shorter than the main leg for through traffic, both in the Hampton Roads area. Interstate 664, which connects the Virginia Peninsula to South Hampton Roads on the western side of Chesapeake (and to the eastern terminus of I-64), is about 15 miles (24 km) shorter than the bypassed main leg. Interstate 264, which passes through downtown Norfolk, is about a mile (1.6 km) shorter than the main leg it bypasses.

Exit list

ee also

*Interstate 264
*Interstate 464
*Interstate 564
*Interstate 664
*Hampton Roads Beltway
*State Route 164

References