April 2025 Edition

Warmer weather is officially here. That means colors across the region will begin popping as trees bloom and our grass gains back its luster. Despite the greens, reds, and yellows we find in nature, the most important color in April is orange. Construction professionals across the country recognize the fourth week in April as National Work Zone Awareness Week. This year’s theme is “Respect the Zone So We All Get Home”. This resonates so much with the ongoing efforts throughout the Commonwealth, but there is no better display than here at the HRBT Expansion Project. More than 2,000 staff members come to our 10-mile corridor on a daily basis to support VDOT’s largest construction project. 

National Work Zone Awareness Week is a great way to kick off the construction season and we look forward to continuing to share stories in this newsletter about the great work our team is accomplishing. Better yet, we’re also excided to show you the work our team has completed with many upcoming traffic shifts in Norfolk. Keep an eye to our website, weekly lane closure reports, and social media for upcoming changes. 

VDOT staff and our design-builder, Hampton Roads Connector Partners, is working as diligently as possible to deliver this enormous undertaking as quickly as possible. To do so, we need to continue to provide a safe working environment both between the lane lines as well as in our work zones. Keep in mind, as you travel the project corridor, you, too, are a participant in the construction of the HRBT Expansion Project. Help us succeed by doing your part; put down you phone, focus on the road, obey speed limits, and drive safe!

As part of the annual week-long campaign focusing on safety, members of the HRBT Expansion Project posed for a photo in orange t-shirts emblazoned with this year's National Work Zone Awareness Week safety message “Respect the zone so we all get home” on April 23.

Mary Nears Halfway Point to South Island

Interior work for the first new tube's plenum wall continues into the spring.

April is a month of celebrations for Mary The Tunnel Boring Machine.

• April 23, 2023 -Mary launched from the HRBT South Island to create Virginia’s first bored tunnel
• April 17, 2024 - The TBM broke through the headwall at the HRBT North Island marking completion of the first tube.

In just six months the nearly 2,500-ton cutterhead and shield, along with her trailing gantries were turned around and pushed through the headwall at the North Island for her journey back to the South Island.



Mary is nearing the low point pump station and continuing her final tunneling mission. She is expected to complete the companion tunnel by Fall 2025.

North Island crews continue work on the new tunnel approach base slab and exterior wall waterproofing.

While the TBM does its work, crews are continuing to build out the first tube with egress corridors made of reinforced concrete to create a safe passage out of the tube in the event of a fire, accident or hazard. They’re also installing the tunnel’s drivable roadway and divider walls leading out of the tunnels to separate traffic exiting the tube.

A similar tunnel interior build out will occur once Mary finishes mining the second tunnel. One thousand, one-hundred ninety-four (1,194) concrete rings will form the second tube.

South Island crews prepare for the island's first roof pour that will cover the launch pit and serve as the base for the facility's tunnel support buildings.

Crews install rebar and false flooring for the plenum slab. The plenum slab serves as the roof of the tunnel as cars exit back to daylight.

Marine Crews Prepare for Summer 2025 Traffic Shifts

As the region awaits Mary's return to South Island, marking completion of the Expansion Project's second tunnel, crews on the Southern end of the project are planning for significant traffic shifts this summer.

Crews are in the final stages of building the second of two South Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) trestles where motorists will be diverted later this year. The scheduled shift will signify the next phase of construction for the permanent eight-lane mega trestle that will connect eastbound and westbound tunnel lanes to Willoughby Spit in Norfolk. The temporary trestles will serve as a detour to and from the existing tunnels while crews deconstruct the trestles built in 1957 and 1976.

The new South Trestle will stand 44 feet above the water's surface to increase resiliency during the structures 100-year life span.

The same spirit of innovation that drives Mary’s tunnel boring operations can be seen hard at work every day from the Norfolk to Hampton shores. The project employs a collection of innovative solutions to overcome unique challenges of the Hampton Roads harbor.

Learn more about the new South Trestle in the Spring 2025 edition of the HRBT Expansion Magazine.

Construction for the permanent eight-lane South Trestle continues into spring 2025.

HRBT Expansion Leading Regional Transformation

Project Director Ryan Banas shared construction updates and regional impacts of the HRBT Expansion Project with the Hampton Roads Chamber's 2025 CIVIC Leadership Institute Transportation Day. The cohort of business, nonprofit, and government leaders gained insight on the project's economic impacts including Small Women and Minority-Owned (SWaM) business opportunities and regional recognition.

Project Deputy Director Pete Reilly (VDOT) was an invited speaker for the 2025 LEAD Hampton Roads Class on April 10 in Virginia Beach. Pete presented updates on the HRBT Expansion Project to a class of 50 men and women who were selected to learn more about Hampton Roads and its local, state, and regional businesses. The topic was Infrastructure Day, and the new tunnels and interstate improvements were among several topics presented during the program sponsored by the Hampton Roads Chamber.

The Maritime Rangers, Ocean View Elementary's STEM club, took a trip to the HRBT Welcome Center in March. Project staff highlighted engineering solutions and environmental management for marine construction.

Newport News Active Lifestyle Seniors

The HRBT Communications team also welcomed a group of seniors from Newport News Parks and Recreation's Active Lifestyle Seniors program to the center. Guests recalled traveling across the harbor over the decades and marveled at the capabilities of Mary the Tunnel Boring Machine and Katherine the Slurry Treatment Plant in connecting the region.

Home Educators Recreation & Enrichment

Following the March 25th Welcome Center Open House, students and parents from Home Educators Recreation & Enrichment (HERE) Group visited the facility for an afternoon of HRBT Expansion-inspired STEM learning.

Staff from HRCP introduced students to various aspects of construction including environmental management, tunnel engineering, and equipment operation.

Instrumentation and Monitoring at the HRBT Expansion Project

Sean Johnson spends his days with a keen eye on “invisible” measurements across the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion project. These measurements, sometimes as small as a one hundredth of an inch, serve to inform the project team of any developing changes in the existing facility or newly constructed portions of the project.



Click here to watch how Sean monitors the project: https://bit.ly/42kCCTh

To listen to Sean describe his job in detail, tune in to HRBT Tunnel Talk. In the podcast, you will learn about his integral role in the ongoing success of the HRBT Expansion project. 

Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP) team members show company and community pride at the 58th Annual Ocean View St. Patrick's Day Parade in Norfolk on Saturday, March 15.

A new era of improved travel is coming to I-64 in Norfolk, not only with the completion of the HRBT Expansion Project, but also as the Hampton Roads Express Lanes (HREL) network expands through the region and through the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) itself.

Adjacent to the HRBT Expansion Project footprint, construction is also underway on the first of two phases of Norfolk HREL projects, expanding driver choices and improving travel reliability.

Once these two phases of projects are complete, the Norfolk segment will combine two types of Express Lanes: the existing Reversible Express Lanes, which will continue to operate in one direction at a time, and a new Part-Time Shoulder Express Lane on I-64 east and west, which will run in the opposite direction of the Reversible lanes. This coordinated approach will now provide drivers the benefits of a high-occupancy toll lane option in both directions throughout the day.

Here’s how the weekday operations will work:

• In the morning, westbound drivers will use the Reversible Express Lanes, while eastbound drivers can use the new Part-Time Shoulder Express Lane.
• In the afternoon, the lanes flip; eastbound drivers use the Reversible lanes, and westbound drivers get access to the shoulder lane.

All of these Express Lanes use dynamic tolling based on real-time traffic conditions to help manage traffic and maintain reliable travel times. A funded E-ZPass transponder is required to use the Hampton Roads Express Lanes, whether traveling solo or with a passenger. However, HOV-2+ vehicles ride toll-free with an E-ZPass Flex set to “HOV ON.” Solo drivers will still always have the choice to use the free general purpose lanes too. Once complete, each direction of the Norfolk mainline corridor will consist of one part-time shoulder Express Lane and three free general purpose lanes, in addition to the Reversible Express Lanes.

The first phase of the Norfolk Segment “1A” Project, under construction now, spans approximately 2 miles from Patrol Road to Tidewater Drive and includes bridge work on eight existing bridges and installation of tolling infrastructure, noise walls and signage. The second Norfolk Segment “1B” Project, spanning approximately 7 miles from Tidewater Drive to I-264, is in design and also includes extensive bridge work, tolling infrastructure, and new noise walls. Together, the 9-mile Norfolk segment will connect directly to the HRBT’s future Express Lanes, becoming part of the region’s 45-mile continuous Express Lanes network.

To see how each of these Norfolk Express Lanes systems work together, scan the QR code or visit bit.ly/HRELNorfolkOps to view a short video.

To learn more about the Hampton Roads Express Lanes network, visit 64ExpressLanes.org.