A Message From the Project Director
Jim Utterback
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Project progress continues with our Design-Builder working throughout the project corridor. Widening roadways, constructing bridges, preparing for the launch of the TBM, the variety of activities continues to increase with each passing month.
I wanted to take a moment to assure citizens that the construction team pays close attention to any potential severe weather impact to the region. Our first priority is safety, for our employees and citizens, and at the project sites. There is an identified “safe harbor” area for the marine construction equipment and the Design-Builder has established plans for the movement of cranes and jack-up barges, vessels, and any other items that could present a hazard. With two months remaining in hurricane season, work remains ongoing, but at the first sign of any potential weather event, the project team is ready to respond.
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For this month, here is a short overview the highlights from the various construction areas within the project.
Landside
In Norfolk and Hampton, crews continue their efforts at widening the interstate roadway, including widening the various bridges and overpasses. The first sections of bridge deck have been placed at Bayview Avenue and the work at the Willoughby Bay Bridge continues with pile driving, beam setting, and other activities designed to widen this important link in I-64. Good news for residents near I-64 and Evans Street, new replacement sound walls are going up that will reduce noise from the traffic as well as construction operations.
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Marine Work
Work on the North Trestle connecting the North Island and Hampton continues at a rapid pace. Large girders have been placed and these precast mammoth structures are integral to the structural integrity of the bridge infrastructure. Over the past month, crews have begun concrete slab placements that will ultimately become the roadway.
Motorists will continue to see the impressive work being completed on the South Trestle superstructure that will one day carry eight lanes of traffic to/from the South Island and Norfolk. The construction of this new structure is more than 7-8 feet higher than the present structures and is designed to be safer for motorists as well as offer better protection from storms and sea level rise.
Driving through the project, you might wonder why some of the piles in the water are steel while others are concrete. The answer is the steel pilings are temporary; these are put in place to accommodate temporary traffic shifts and will be removed once the permanent structures are completed. While temporary, they are safe, but are quite easier to remove from the seabed versus concrete.
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Tunnel/Island Work
Work on the South Island launch pit is moving along smartly. The launch pit base slab is ¾ of the way complete and crews are focusing their attention on Cell 1 preparing the headwall for the start of tunneling operations. Crews also continue assembly of the TBM components, both in the launch pit and on the island surface.
Some of the most exciting news over the past month has been the finalization of the slurry treatment plant (STP) base slab. I remain optimistic about the major role that Katherine, the STP will play in the overall success of the upcoming boring operations. The STP will process the excavated materials from the TBM boring operations allowing for disposal or reuse of the materials.
Every day is a new challenge here on the project and an opportunity to help improve our transportation network. We sincerely appreciate the patience of motorists and the residents along the corridor. I encourage each of you to recognize the magnitude of this massive undertaking and use caution while driving through the corridor. Our goal at VDOT is to deliver the best possible project while keeping our roadways safe for drivers and our construction partners.
Drive Safe, obey posted speed limits, and remain cognizant of ongoing, shifting lane patterns.
Jim Utterback
Project Director
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HRCP Construction Update: Work Underway to Reassemble the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) |
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Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP) crews are busy at work re-assembling Mary, the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) on the South Island of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) in preparation to begin boring.
As discussed in previous articles, the TBM was manufactured in Germany, tested then disassembled, and shipped to Hampton Roads as 170 bulk pieces and 30 containers of parts. Crews are now working to take the many parts of the TBM and weld them together – like a BIG Lego set – in the bottom of the South Island TBM Launch Shaft.
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In the picture above, shown are two of the four trailing gantries; Gantry 1 to the left, Gantry 3 to the right, being assembled in the bottom of the 45-foot-deep of the TBM Launch Shaft. Once fully assembled, these gantries will be connected inline behind the TBM cutterhead, the front portion of the machine that rotates to cut through the soil beneath the riverbed and places the tunnel segments. These gantries will support the tunnel boring operation by providing electric power, water, air, and slurry to the TBM. They will also transport the “spoils,” more specifically the slurry mixture used in the boring process to excavate the soil, to Katherine, the Slurry Treatment Plant (STP) located on the South Island for treatment and disposal.
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North Island (Hampton side) |
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Heading East, on the North Marine Trestles. Closest to Hampton. |
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Aerial View of the North Island expansion and the marine trestles. |
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North Island rebar preparation for the slurry walls that will
ultimately become the North Island receiving pit.
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South Island (Norfolk side) |
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Aerial view of South Island Marine trestles. Pilings pictured are closest to Norfolk. |
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Bird’s eye view of the South Island
tri-cell launch pit.
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Soundwall Install near Mason’s Creek. |
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Girder placement on the Willougby Bay Bridge. |
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Lights, Camera, Expansion! Project Progress Photos |
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Interested in the daily activity at the HRBT Expansion Project? Wondering about the widening? Excited about the expansion? Now available on the HRBT Expansion website, citizens can view images from the project cameras located throughout the project corridor. |
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Equipped to Build: The Vibroflot |
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Expanding a land mass like the North Island at the HRBT, takes tools that are not readily available at your local hardware stores. The expansion of the North Island creates additional land mass to receive the tunnel boring machine and support the new tunnel approach and bridges from Hampton. |
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Expanded North Island; almost doubled in sized |
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The 15-acre expansion utilized rock, sand and fill dirt to double the island in size from its original configuration in 1957. Vibro-compaction was used to improve the density of loose, granular, and sandy soils, mitigate liquefaction, and compress the fill material used to expand the island. More specifically, the process utilized a vibrating device known as a Vibroflot to stabilize the granular material at great depths. |
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The Vibroflot is a long slender steel tube with two distinct parts: the vibrator and the follower tubes. The attachment is connected by a strong elastic material to the follower tubes, connected to an excavator and the compaction is performed by a trained certified operator.
With precise placement, the vibrations move the fill material into a more compact and dense state stabilizing the earth below the surface.
For the North Island expansion, vibro-compaction was utilized to treat more than 23 feet of fill material.
These activities ensure that the ground is stable enough to hold the heavy machinery necessary during construction operations and then future traffic upon completion of the tunnel structures.
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Outreach at Norfolk Neighborhood Expo |
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If you host it, we will come! The HRBT Expansion Project is committed to community outreach and engagement. Educating citizens about the project history, process and progress is key to the community understanding the impact of this transformative transportation project. What does the project entail? Boring two, new two-lane tunnels, replacement or rehabilitation of 28 bridges and expansion of an island, all within 10 miles of the project corridor from Settlers Landing in Hampton to I-564 in Norfolk. In the month of September, the team presented to more than a dozen groups such as:
- Emergency Media Council of Hampton Roads
- 2022 Oceana Airshow STEM Day Event for City of Virginia Beach Schools
- Norfolk Neighborhood Expo
- Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce Norfolk Board
- Senior Center of York County
If you are interested in having the HRBT Expansion project team present to your group or organization, email HRBTinfo@vdot.virginia.gov. The team is now accepting requests for dates in 2023.
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Presentation to Emergency Media Council |
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Governor Youngkin visits the HRBT Expansion Project exhibit at the Oceana Airshow STEM Event |
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Every employee at the HRBT Expansion Project plays a key role in the daily progress of construction, and ultimately its final completion. A multitude of employees behind the scenes ensure that all the tasks that need to be completed are managed in a safe, efficient manner.
Ensuring that each individual project task on the critical path to completion is done to VDOT standards requires a wealth of worldly experience and exceptional organizational skills by those who manage each division or department. These team members must oversee and empower other project team members consistently and must often shift gears between responsibilities not just daily but hourly. Because the project is operating on a 24/7 schedule, these leaders are not just experts in their field, but they serve as mentors, teachers, and educators among their peers. In this edition of the HRBT Expansion project newsletter you will meet Jovita Stander, Project Controls Manager, and Carissa Agnew, HRCP Environmental Manager, two valuable team members who are passionate about teaching and learning.
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Jovita Stander | VDOT Oversight, WSP Project Controls Manager
“Meeting Goals, Exceeding Expectations”
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For Jovita Stander, being in control is the name of the game. As Project Controls Manager for the HRBT Expansion Project, Jovita leads her team of 16 in managing the project schedule, project costs, and the steady flow of project documentation to ensure each piece of project information is appropriately captured. This is accomplished by gathering, managing, and analyzing data which allows the team to accurately predict and manage the time and cost outcomes of the project. The work of the project controls team is essential to the HRBT Expansion Project as it equips project leadership with the information to make informed and calculated decisions.
Jovita’s journey to the HRBT Expansion Project was not by happenstance; it was all in her “control.” While not an engineer by profession, Jovita was always interested in civil engineering and was passionate about understanding how things work. Her love for engineering even transcends to her choice of entertainment---one of her favorite television shows is “Extreme Engineering,” on the Discovery Channel. With a degree in Business Administration, a certificate in Project Management, and a master’s degree in Project Management, Jovita has had the opportunity to work on various engineering and construction projects across a multitude of industries in numerous countries across the globe.
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Born in South Africa, Jovita has lived in several countries, across four continents: Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Her native language is Afrikaans, but she is fluent in Portuguese and English and communicates confidently in Spanish.
Married to her husband Johann for 24 years, they are both passionate about animals and exploring nature. They’ve seen a vast number of ecosystems traveling through Africa and various other countries. Some travel included walking 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) in 32 days on the ancient pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago (Saint James’ Way), that encompassed several routes across France and Spain. In addition to traveling, Jovita is an avid reader with a keen interest in other cultures and their languages. She also enjoys cooking a variety of worldly cuisines for friends and family.
When asked what she would do if not working in civil engineering, Jovita replied, “I would be a tap dancer, a writer, or an explorer! But most likely an explorer – I am a gypsy at heart.”
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Carissa Agnew | HRCP Environmental Manager
“The Wildlife”
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Carissa Agnew, Environmental Manager for HRCP, has always loved nature and animals. A high school science teacher led this Michigan native to the water and into marine biology. Upon graduation, she enlisted in the United States Coast Guard (USCG), and while serving our country, she earned a degree in Wildlife Biology and a Master's in Environmental Management.
As the HRCP Environmental Manager, Carissa leads her team in ensuring that project activities minimize disturbances to the environment (land and marine) along the project corridor. She also ensures construction remains in compliance with all environmental permitting and regulations governing the project. Ultimately, Carissa and her team have the responsibility to preserve and enhance the environment throughout the life of the project.
Within the project corridor, there are beaches, local waterways, and historical wildlife attractions frequented by thousands of people annually; the project is responsible for protecting these irreplaceable natural resources. The environmental team works closely with the various construction teams, and Carissa as a subject matter expert on any ecological concerns.
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In her ‘downtime’, Carissa’s stays busy with her two dogs, cat, chinchilla, and soon to be 15-year-old son. She declares herself the “best football mom,” when she accompanies her son as he travels the country with Team USA playing ‘American’ football. The sport has allowed the two to travel domestically and abroad including Mexico and Canada. Both lovers of adventure, Carissa and her son have surfed in Hawaii, hiked a glacier in Alaska, and scuba-dived with sharks in the Caribbean.
The Environmental Manager role is directly in line with her passion for nature and animals. If she had to choose the once in a lifetime job opportunity one would find Carissa working in the Caribbean at a marine rescue facility. She would enjoy rescuing and rehabilitating marine animals to safely return them to their natural habitats in the wild. Agnew states, “I have always loved marine animals and I find peace and comfort with my toes in the sand and the smell of saltwater in the air.”
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Are you wondering about the day-to-day operations along the HRBT Expansion Project corridor? Are you curious about the cranes? Interested in the island expansion details? Do you want to learn more about the launch pit? Here is an all-access pass to virtually tour the project, led by Project Director, Jim Utterback. Join Jim as he provides an inside look on project activities, highlights some of the largest equipment used to construct the marine trestles and tunnel shafts and provides a peek into the welding tent where the reassembly of the TBM Mary is taking place. |
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HRBT Tunnel Talk Podcast: Regional Relationships |
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Through the collective effort of the Hampton Roads region by way of the Hampton Road Transportation Accountability Commission (HRTAC), and after years of study, engagement, and analysis, the HRBT Expansion Project went from a “much needed expansion” to becoming one of the largest, transportation projects in the history of the Commonwealth.
How did that come about? What does this mean for the region? Is regionalism alive and well?
Catch up on all of this and more in September’s episode of HRBT Tunnel Talk as HRTAC Chair and Mayor of Hampton, Donnie Tuck, along with Project Director Jim Utterback and Tunnel Talk podcast host, Brooke Grow discuss how regional collaboration made this project a reality and will improve travel time reliability between the Southside and the Peninsula.
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What can you expect to learn more about, constructing the launch pit; reassembling and powering the Tunnel Boring Machine and building new homes for marine life.
The Summer 2022 edition of the HRBT Expansion Magazine is all about the “action” within the project corridor. Read about these and other “boring” topics in the latest issue. bit.ly/HRBTMagSummer2022
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We Want to Hear From You! |
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What is a TBM? How far underground are the new tunnels going to be built? Why did the birds leave the bridge? We know you have been following the HRBT Expansion Project and may have tons of questions. Ask Away! Now is your chance to ask our subject matter experts your questions via the HRBT Expansion call in line! Call 757.304.0305 to submit your question and you may have your inquiry answered on an upcoming episode of HRBT Tunnel Talk. |
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Get In the Know, and Then Go! |
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Sign Up To Receive Updates! |
Sign up for the HRBT Expansion Project Alerts to get weekly updates on traffic and construction impacts. Perfect way to “know before you go!”
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The HRBT Expansion Project team is committed to staying connected with the region for the life of the project. Like, join, follow, or tweet about the project on our social media channels. |
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