NORFOLK/HAMPTON — The first weekend of planned Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel directional closures remains on schedule to begin this Friday for critical roadway repaving. The HRBT is scheduled to fully close westbound toward Hampton from 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, through 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 5.
The eastbound direction will remain open while this closure is in place.
This weekend’s closure is the first of up to two scheduled for westbound repaving. A second westbound closure is currently scheduled for Friday, Oct. 9, at 9 p.m. through Monday, Oct. 12, at 5 a.m. The second closure will only be used if needed to allow the contractor to complete any remaining work.
Scheduling the work during the weekend allows the closure to begin after the Friday evening commute and end before the Monday morning commute, helping avoid the heaviest weekday travel periods. Due to space constraints inside the tunnels and the size of equipment and crews required, a full directional closure is necessary to safely complete the milling, paving and pavement markings.
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VDOT is coordinating with localities, law enforcement and regional partners to keep alternate routes open, support incident response and help manage traffic during the closure. Motorists are encouraged to plan ahead for the closure weekend, limit nonessential travel and expect delays.
Motorists should allow extra travel time and consider using the signed detour via the I-664 Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel (MMMBT) as the primary alternate route. Depending on their destination, motorists may also consider other regional routes, including the James River Bridge via Route 17 or the free Jamestown-Scotland Ferry.
Following the westbound closures, repaving will shift to the eastbound HRBT toward Norfolk, with closures scheduled for:
- Friday, Oct. 16 at 9 p.m. through Monday, Oct. 19 at 5 a.m.
- Friday, Oct. 30 at 9 p.m. through Monday, Nov. 2 at 5 a.m.*
*A second closure weekend will be used if needed to allow the contractor to complete any remaining work in that direction.
This repaving project is separate from the HRBT Expansion Project and addresses current pavement needs in the existing tunnels. The existing tunnel pavement, last paved westbound in 2006 and eastbound in 2012, has reached or is nearing the end of its typical service life, resulting in more frequent planned and emergency traffic stoppages for temporary repairs.
The paving work is weather-dependent. If weather or other conditions prevent work from taking place as scheduled, additional designated backup weekends may be used: Nov. 6-9 and Nov. 13-16. No closure is scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 23-26.
For additional project information, the latest schedule and to sign up for project email updates, visit the HRBT paving project webpage at VDOT.Virginia.gov/HRBTclosures. Before traveling, motorists should also check VDOT’s 511Virginia website and mobile app for the latest closure and traffic information. Third-party navigation apps such as Google Maps, Apple Maps and Waze may not reflect the most up-to-date closure information.
