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VDOT rehab project causing delays along I-664 in Hampton

  • The I-664 and I-64 bulkhead project near the Coliseum in...

    Judith Lowery / Daily Press

    The I-664 and I-64 bulkhead project near the Coliseum in Hampton is now estimated to be complete by mid-May. At this time, VDOT does not have an exact date as to when the lane will reopen to traffic. Weather conditions permitting and no unforeseen circumstances, the contractor of the project should be 100 percent complete within approximately two weeks.

  • The I-664 and I-64 bulkhead project near the Coliseum in...

    Judith Lowery / Daily Press

    The I-664 and I-64 bulkhead project near the Coliseum in Hampton is now estimated to be complete by mid-May. At this time, VDOT does not have an exact date as to when the lane will reopen to traffic. Weather conditions permitting and no unforeseen circumstances, the contractor of the project should be 100 percent complete within approximately two weeks.

  • Kenyon Smith carries an irrigation suction tube back to the...

    Judith Lowery / Daily Press

    Kenyon Smith carries an irrigation suction tube back to the truck.

  • The I-664 and I-64 bulkhead project near the Coliseum in...

    Judith Lowery / Daily Press

    The I-664 and I-64 bulkhead project near the Coliseum in Hampton is now estimated to be complete by mid-May. At this time, VDOT does not have an exact date as to when the lane will reopen to traffic. Weather conditions permitting and no unforeseen circumstances, the contractor of the project should be 100 percent complete within approximately two weeks.

  • An assortment of equipment, including a boat. The I-664 and...

    Judith Lowery / Daily Press

    An assortment of equipment, including a boat. The I-664 and I-64 bulkhead project near the Coliseum in Hampton is now estimated to be complete by mid-May. At this time, VDOT does not have an exact date as to when the lane will reopen to traffic. Weather conditions permitting and no unforeseen circumstances, the contractor of the project should be 100 percent complete within approximately two weeks.

  • Gage Stover carries equipment back to the truck. The I-664...

    Judith Lowery / Daily Press

    Gage Stover carries equipment back to the truck. The I-664 and I-64 bulkhead project near the Coliseum in Hampton is now estimated to be complete by mid-May. At this time, VDOT does not have an exact date as to when the lane will reopen to traffic. Weather conditions permitting and no unforeseen circumstances, the contractor of the project should be 100 percent complete within approximately two weeks.

  • The I-664 and I-64 bulkhead project near the Coliseum in...

    Judith Lowery / Daily Press

    The I-664 and I-64 bulkhead project near the Coliseum in Hampton is now estimated to be complete by mid-May. At this time, VDOT does not have an exact date as to when the lane will reopen to traffic. Weather conditions permitting and no unforeseen circumstances, the contractor of the project should be 100 percent complete within approximately two weeks.

  • Men work within view of the Coliseum. The I-664 and...

    Judith Lowery / Daily Press

    Men work within view of the Coliseum. The I-664 and I-64 bulkhead project near the Coliseum in Hampton is now estimated to be complete by mid-May. At this time, VDOT does not have an exact date as to when the lane will reopen to traffic. Weather conditions permitting and no unforeseen circumstances, the contractor of the project should be 100 percent complete within approximately two weeks.

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HAMPTON — There was a time when Carl Holt, a worker at Newport News Shipbuilding, could cruise down Interstate 664, exit onto I-64 west, and be in his Kiln Creek driveway in Newport News in about 20 minutes.

“I work the 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift,” Holt said. “So I could use the HOV lane to get home.”

But lately, getting home within the same time from his job in downtown Newport News has been a rarity — courtesy of a bridge flyover project that continues to jam up traffic at the I-64/I-664 interchange.

“I see the rear lights start braking just before Powhatan Parkway, so I exit Powhatan to avoid the traffic. But it’s just as bad at 3:30 p.m. or 4 p.m. if you take those roads,” Holt said. “Now, it takes me about 30 to 45 minutes to get home.”

Patience is waning for drivers who use I-664 as their main route home or to events on the Peninsula, as construction to the flyover bridge continues.

Virginia Department of Transportation officials say crews with Virginia Beach-based Waterfront Marine Construction Inc. are working to complete a $4 million bulkhead rehabilitation project at the I-664 flyover — an interchange that merges northbound traffic from I-664 with westbound I-64 traffic near the Hampton Coliseum.

Brittany McBride Nichols, a VDOT Hampton Roads spokeswoman, said this is the first time since 1982 major rehabilitation work has been done to the bulkhead protecting the I-664 flyover. She said the lane closure is necessary to allow crews to continue working on the bridge.

“The project remains on schedule for an estimated completion date of late April 2016,” Nichols said.

Crews began shutting down the left lane approaching I-64 in November to repair and rehabilitate the bulkhead that protects and anchors the flyover above Coliseum Lake and the Southwest Branch Back River — a measure bringing traffic to a standstill during rush hour. The work zone also has resulted in a few wrecks.

Interstate 664, or the Hampton Roads Beltway, carries three lanes of traffic in the northbound and southbound directions on the Peninsula through Hampton, toward downtown Newport News, before moving traffic through and over the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel into Suffolk.

Travelers headed north on I-664 typically can use the left and center lanes to exit I-64 west if headed to Newport News, Williamsburg or Richmond. The right lane merges traffic with I-64 east, which takes travelers toward downtown Hampton and into Norfolk via the HRBT.

Construction, however, has altered traffic flow in the area.

The left lane is now shut down until work on the flyover’s bulkhead is completed — forcing two lanes of northbound I-664 traffic into one curvy pothole-riddled lane that exits onto I-64 west.

The result has been constant congestion, rubbernecking, and a few wrecks, at an interchange through which nearly 40,000 vehicles a day travel, according to VDOT traffic counts.

Navigating around the construction congestion can also be difficult — especially during rush hour.

Traffic can come to a stand still along Powhatan and Power Plant parkways, as drivers try to loop around the interchange to merge back onto I-64 west via Mercury Boulevard.

Sometimes those wait times can double on Fridays as drivers, looking for relief from Power Plant Parkway congestion, shift over to Pine Chapel Road to access North Coliseum Drive.

But relief is on the way.

Transportation officials say crews are making progress.

Jennifer Gwaltney, a spokeswoman for VDOT’s Hampton Roads District, said the contractor has completed installing a new sheet piling wall at the project site. Sheet piling walls are long structural sections with a vertical interlocking system that creates a continuous blockade that most often is used to retain either soil or water.

“Crews will begin adding flowable fill between the existing wall and new wall,” Gwaltney said. She added that crews are also installing erosion stones beneath the flyover and installing measures to control corrosion around the bulkhead.

That might be good news for Holt, who simply wants the project done.

“I’ll be happy with anything,” Holt said. “They could finish the project tomorrow, as long as they get it done sooner than later.”

O’Neal can be reached by phone at 757-247-4744.