VDOT updates Newport News on I-64 express lanes, HRBT expansion and James River Bridge deck replacement

Chris Hall, district engineer with the Virginia Department of Transportation, told Newport News City Council at a work session that construction on the Hampton Roads express lanes and related tunnel and bridge projects is advancing and that several upcoming night and weekend traffic changes will affect local commuters.

The update covered a 45–50 mile express-lanes network on I-64, work on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) expansion, procurement for the Denbigh Boulevard interchange and a James River Bridge (JRB) grid-deck replacement. Hall said the express lanes will operate as a high-occupancy toll facility with free travel for qualifying high-occupancy vehicles and motorcycles and dynamic tolling for single-occupancy vehicles.

“Number 1, there’s always a free option,” Chris Hall said. “Number 2, the express lanes are really designed to provide a reliable trip.” He added that toll revenues will support towing, repayment of loans used to develop the initial network and continued improvements to the express-lanes network.

Hall said the Newport News segment (Segments 4A/4B) runs roughly 11.5 miles between Denbigh Boulevard and the LaSalle interchange. The segment began construction in 2024 and was originally expected to finish in 2027; Hall said the contractor is running ahead of schedule and the work could be complete before the end of calendar year 2026. He warned that overnight and early-morning “slow rolling closures” by State Police will begin as crews erect large overhead structures and will continue intermittently for several months.

On the HRBT project, Hall said the second tunnel boring is on schedule for completion in fall 2025. The tunnel-boring machine known as “Mary” was about 1,700 feet into the eastbound tunnel at the time of the briefing. Hall described staged trestle openings and traffic shifts planned for 2025 that will allow demolition and reconstruction of eastbound bridge structures while maintaining traffic operations.

The Denbigh Boulevard interchange will be built in two phases, Hall said. Phase 1 — providing westbound on- and off-ramps — is in procurement and expected to be advertised in the spring and awarded by the end of the calendar year. Eastbound access is part of a later Phase 2, which requires additional planning for railroad and other impacts.

Hall said the grid-deck replacement on the James River Bridge is scheduled to begin as early as the weekend of March 7, with a northbound (toward Newport News) full weekend closure that would end before the Monday morning rush. He said two backup weekends are reserved if weather forces a postponement. Hall characterized the broader HRBT program as a roughly $4,000,000,000 undertaking and noted the project has attracted more than $500,000,000 in small-business investment to date.

Council members asked operational and community-impact questions. Councilman Neeley said residents reported frequent tunnel delays and asked whether routine cleaning and maintenance schedule could be clarified; Hall said routine tunnel activities (such as light work and washing) are typically scheduled overnight between about 9 p.m. and 3–4 a.m., and that routine maintenance occurs roughly four nights a week, while daytime closures typically indicate emergencies. Councilman Long asked about the Lee Hall half-interchange and its relation to Denbigh; Hall said Lee Hall is part of an ongoing Fort Eustis Boulevard safety/study and that he would provide an update when it is complete.

Why it matters: the projects will reconfigure traffic patterns across the peninsula, require overnight and weekend lane closures, and involve long-term construction staging that affects commute reliability, local access and nearby neighborhoods. The express-lanes model also directs toll revenues to regional maintenance and project payback under VDOT’s agreement with regional partners.

Additional details: the express-lanes network is described in VDOT materials as a continuous managed-lane system between Bowers Hill and Denbigh Boulevard; the Newport News segment is about 11.5 miles; HRBT tunnel-boring progress and temporary trestle openings are planned through 2025; the JRB grid-deck weekend closure is scheduled for March 7–10 with backup dates. VDOT posted information and a newsletter sign-up at 64expresslanes.org and offered a mobile app for iOS and Android for operational details.

Local follow-ups: Council members asked for clearer public communications about night-time maintenance and upcoming closures. City Manager Alan Archer introduced the presentation and thanked VDOT for its coordination with city public-works staff.