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A Message from Project Leadership
Ryan Banas, Project Director
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Summer is here, and so is a flurry of activity across the HRBT Expansion Project. We’re very proud to report that Mary has achieved new tunneling records; mining more than 400 feet in 5 days. Additionally, progress throughout the project is visible as our roadway and landside bridges crews have been making great progress at the Mallory Street overpass, Willoughby Bay Bridge and several interchanges throughout Norfolk. Don’t overlook the great work being made as we complete the last few spans of bridge needed to connect south island to the new 8-lane south trestle to allow the first traffic shift on to this new bridge.
As the air temperatures heat up, make sure your temperature doesn’t. With our beautiful beaches and numerous attractions the Hampton Roads region becomes a destination for travelers around the east coast each summer. That means visitors unfamiliar with our traffic patterns, drivers new to tunnels, as well as a sightseer trying to catch a glimpse of the harbor. Please be mindful and patient with our out of town guests as they come to our region and enjoy for a short time the many great reasons we call Hampton Roads home.
As always, play your part in the HRBT Expansion by slowing down, focusing on the road, putting down your phone, and driving safe!
Ryan
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Mary The Tunnel Boring Machine’s mining operations passed the halfway point this month with nearly 60% of the more than 7,900-foot second tunnel excavated. In addition to the construction milestone, the team also celebrated a new weekly mining record. During the week of April 21, 2025, Mary installed 63 rings, breaking her previous record of 55 rings installed over the course of the TBM's five-day work week. 63 rings equates to just over 409 feet of tunnel, an amazing feat of engineering, hard work, and perseverance.
TBM crews continue to use regularly scheduled weekend maintenance time for TBM upkeep, replacing worn excavation tools and extending utilities to accommodate the machine's increasing mining distance from where she started on South Island.
| | TBM crews perform routine cutterhead maintenance including inspection and replacement of rippers as needed. | | As Mary progresses in her journey back to South Island, crews must extend the TBM's utility lines. | | Tunneling progress caught the eye of influential Navy leaders this May. Visiting dignitaries included Rear Admiral Jorge Cuadros representing Naval Facilities Command (NAVFAC) Atlantic along with members of the NAVFAC LANT staff (above). Rear Admiral John Welch (Ret.) of the Royal Navy was also eager to view HRBT's Welcome Center and hear updates about progress this month. | | The STP Pulse Behind Mary's Progress | | |
While Mary the Tunnel Boring Machine is the driving force of VDOT's momentous tunnel boring operation, Katherine The Slurry Treatment Plant (STP) is the heartbeat. Aptly named after the pioneering NASA mathematician who worked alongside the TBM's namesake, Katherine has made history of her own as the largest STP in North America.
The plant is currently operating on HRBT's South Island where slurry is made. The mud-like mixture is then pumped from South Island to the face of Mary's cutterhead, an essential step in stabilizing the earth at the front of the TBM. Simultaneously, the outgoing spoils carry excavated materials like sand, silt, clay, and shells back to the STP where it's separated for disposal off site. To mine the second tunnel, Katherine's slurry will eventually make a three-mile round trip from the STP and back.
Together, the TBM and STP teams continue to set new mining records. Mary's recent best week of 63 rings also led to an unprecedented performance by Katherine. For each ring installed, there is approximately 600 tons of excavated soil delivered to the STP. That means Katherine received and processed upwards of 37,800 tons of soil during Mary's record-breaking week in April.
| Above: Once separated from the slurry, excavated material is loaded by conveyor onto a muck barge. One barge can hold material from 4-5 rings of mining. | | Right: The trommel is the first step in separating used slurry. Slurry enters the trommel at 13,200 gallons per minute. As the drum rotates, liquids fall through the mesh screen at the bottom while large solids are left behind. | | The Transformation From Tubes to Tunnels Continues | | |
Inside Virginia's first bored roadway tunnel (left), crews have nearly completed the base layer of the road's foundation, while pours for the tunnel's interior concrete structures continue.
HRBT's egress corridor and plenum continue to take shape. Also ongoing below the surface is construction of the tunnel's low point pump station which sits 173 feet beneath the river's surface and will collect excess rain and run off from the bridge and tunnel approaches.
In the second tunnel, crews have started work on the floor slab that will ultimately support its low point pump station (right).
| | Tunnel Talk, Straight Talk | | |
It's migratory bird season in Hampton Roads, and WTKR's Anthony Sabella traveled to the South Island to discover how the project's bird monitors help keep construction moving forward while keeping dozens of vulnerable species of birds safe. Click here to view his story.
Tune in to the June episode of HRBT Tunnel Talk Podcast to learn more about the essential work of the bird monitoring team as the they celebrate five years of monitoring and data collection.
| | | One Year Driving on the New North Trestle-East | | May marked one-year since the opening of North Trestle eastbound, HRBT's newest bridge in more than 50 years. | | |
HRBT Expansion Project Participates in Safety Stand Down
Safety messages were shared at six locations across the HRBT Expansion Project May 12 as part of the VDOT Statewide Safety Stand Down Day. Making safety a daily priority, actively listening and observing surroundings, and avoiding complacency near equipment were among the many reminders shared with staff.
| | | Matt Liffick, Area 4 Resident Engineer shares the safety messages with landside bridge and roadway crews. | | Virginia Beach City Manager Patrick Duhaney and members of the city's engineering staff visited the HRBT Expansion site to see Mary up close. | | |
Since the last edition of the monthly newsletter, project staff continued sharing construction updates and impacts with surrounding communities.
Civic and service groups including East Ocean View Civic League, Roosevelt Gardens Civic League, and Norfolk Sertoma Club welcomed team members to their monthly meetings to provide information about the regional transformation.
| | Students Step into STEM with Tunnel Boring Technology | | |
Spring is in full swing and so are youth outreach events in Hampton Roads. Team HRBT is making its way across the region, sparking curiosity and connecting students to real-world examples of engineering.
To kick off the season, project staff returned to Old Dominion University for an annual presentation to senior civil engineering students. Across the water, students from the peninsula spotted HRBT's bright orange tent at Langley Air Force Base's Air Power Over Hampton Roads STEM Day.
| | Students gather around a mini model of Mary to learn how the tunnel boring machine made way for an innovative twist on underwater tunnels -- one of the region's signature features. | | Welcome Center Open House LOVE | | They came for the “LOVE” and stayed for a tour of the Welcome Center. The HRBT Expansion LOVE sign brought three Hampton Roads friends to the project’s Welcome Center on May 10 for a picture with the outdoor LOVE sign during a regularly scheduled open house. They stayed for a welcome center walk through and gained an appreciation for the project. Bridge engineer Jason Stull also provided visitors with an explanation of the welcome center models and discussed interstate improvements underway along the 10-mile project corridor. | | | | |
Moving the Needle in Hampton Roads!
HRBT Expansion Project Director Named Top 25 Power List
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Ryan Banas, Project Director for HRBT Expansion Project has been named to Inside Business magazine’s TOP 25 Power List. The list made public May 12 details his leadership on the nearly $4 billion expansion project, the largest transportation infrastructure project in Virginia history.
Congratulations, Ryan!
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HREL Network News
Long-Term Traffic Shift on I-64 at Hampton River Bridges to Begin for Express Lanes Hampton Segment Construction
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This month, motorists on I-64 west in Hampton experienced a new traffic pattern at the Hampton River bridges as the Hampton Roads Express Lanes (HREL) Hampton Segment reached a project milestone with the reopening of the newly widened and rehabilitated westbound Hampton River bridge to traffic.
As part of this long-term traffic configuration, two westbound lanes on I-64 will be shifted from the eastbound Hampton River bridge to the newly updated westbound bridge between Woodland Road (exit 267) and Armistead Avenue/LaSalle Avenue (exit 265B).
During this shift, traffic on I-64 east will remain on the eastbound Hampton River bridge and will be shifted left toward the median between Armistead Avenue (exit 265C) and Settlers Landing Road (exit 267).
As early as late spring, two eastbound lanes on I-64 will also be shifted from the eastbound Hampton River bridge to the reopened westbound bridge alongside the I-64 west traffic to allow for the demolition and reconstruction of the eastbound bridge over the Hampton River. These shifts are estimated to be in place until late 2026 when the construction of the new eastbound Hampton River bridge is anticipated to be completed and reopen to eastbound traffic.
To learn more about the HREL Hampton Segment, visit https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/projects/major-projects/64expresslanes/about-hrel/hampton-segment-4c/.
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