Interstate 64 in Virginia travels eastbound from Richmond, the state's capital, through rural areas, past the historic city of Williamsburg and on to the urban center of Hampton Roads, Newport News and Virginia Beach. The latter is the state's most populous region and is home to military bases, colleges, beaches and residences. Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has been steadily adding lanes, both eastbound and westbound, to reduce congestion and enhance safety in this busy region.
Virginia DOT photo
VDOT is pouring approximately $600 million into this region, breaking down the work into smaller projects, providing work and oversight to contractors and subcontractors. Segments of I-64 between Richmond and Hampton Roads have been increased to six lanes or more, but a "gap" exists where the highway is just four lanes. Segment C is the second "gap project." Eventually, I-64 will be six lanes from New Kent County to James City County, approximately 29 mi. The new lanes, one eastbound and one westbound, are being added in the existing median.
Scott Fisher is Richmond District mega projects engineer of VDOT. The job is approximately 40 percent complete, with a target date to be finished by fall 2027. Each of the three gap projects will cost approximately $200 million. Contractors for Segment C are a joint venture of Allan Myers and Wagman.
While planning for tree removal, the project team learned that they would have to contend with endangered species of bats. Since the creatures can consume thousands of insects per night, planners had to figure in bat preservation. This was anticipated during the RFP development. VDOT had included special provisions to address the time of year restrictions. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife department added additional requirements.
"We worked with the state's department of wildlife resources so as not to disturb the mating season or their offspring (called pups)," said Fisher. "Because we planned for this well ahead of our start date, our work was not delayed."
Stronger Shoulder
Once the trees were cleared from the median, workers began the job of strengthening the outside lanes of I-64 so traffic could be transferred there. This effort would free up the lanes adjacent to the median for workers to begin building the new lanes.
"We milled seven inches of the existing asphalt then laid down seven inches of new asphalt," said Fisher. "It provides the drivers a robust temporary riding surface."
Virginia DOT photo
Formerly "just" a shoulder, the new inside lane will be 12 ft. wide. Together with 10-ft. shoulders on the outside of the completed project, I-64 will be capable of carrying up to 10 lanes of traffic if there is an emergency evacuation needed to escape flooding on the coast.
The new lanes will be built on a 10-in. subbase with an additional 10 in. of cement-treated recycled asphalt (RAP). Contractors provided the RAP stores from other projects. The road will be topped by 8.5-in. base asphalt, 3-in. SMA-intermediate asphalt, with 1.5-in. SMA-surface mix asphalt. SMA is stone-matrix asphalt, a durable asphalt mixture suitable for interstate traffic.
Building in the median simplifies the construction process and enables the team to add a safety factor.
"One of our biggest safety concerns is getting trucks back into the flow of traffic," said Fisher. "We have built several construction entrances that consist of long acceleration and deceleration lanes that provide our trucks ample room to merge into the flow of traffic. We also have adequate breaks in the jersey barriers, which makes it easy for dump truck drivers to get into the work zone."
The construction team will be adding the two lanes on nearly 10 mi. of I-64. In addition, they will construct culvert extensions for handling stormwater. The culvert work will be done mostly in the median, with some culverts being extended underneath the road using the jack and bore technique.
"Keeping water away from the roads and bridges is essential for the long life of these structures," said Fisher.
Virginia DOT photo
Workers also will perform essential upgrades to two bridges to accommodate the wider freeway. The bridges are the I-64 East/West over Six Mount Zion Road.
"Our work will include substructure rehabs, and work on the piers, abutments and foundations," said Fisher. "We want to close exposed joints, as well. Otherwise, water and road salt can get in and cause serious deterioration over time."
The construction team will be using approximately 269,000 tons of asphalt for the work and building 36 mi. of underdrains to manage the groundwater. The excavation teams will be moving approximately 600,000 cu. yds. of dirt for the project.
Fisher believes the work will have a big impact to the travelers on I-64, especially for those using the beaches in the summer.
"I'm looking forward to people being able to drive this area without encountering the slowdowns that are normally the case," he said. "The sections we have widened will help traffic move efficiently, instead of slowing down and becoming stop-and-go where the traffic narrows to two lanes. Without VDOT doing this type of work, businesses will be less likely to come here. So, I see it as a win for both travelers and businesses." CEG
