July 2024 Edition

The dog days of summer are officially here. As the temperatures and humidity heat up, so does work throughout the project. Not only is the project team at the HRBT Expansion using the hottest months of the year to make great progress across the entire 10-mile project corridor, but we’re also experiencing an influx of vacationers from across the East Coast traversing the corridor. 

Keep in mind that as more families visit our region, they are less familiar with our roads and find themselves slowing down to catch a glimpse across the harbor at one of the many navy ships or cargo vessels, as well as our impressive construction feats. Please stay alert as you cross the project footprint and pack your patience for our out-of-town guests.



Crews continue to make great strides, and we hope you enjoy learning about the record-breaking work happening at the HRBT Expansion Project with this issue of the newsletter. Whether we’re setting records by rotating our massive tunnel boring machine, preparing to open the first phase of the Mallory Street Bridge Replacement, or continuing improvements throughout Norfolk, you, too, can do your part by putting down your phone, focusing on the road, and driving safe.

Ryan Banas

Project Director

Mary The Tunnel Boring Machine continues to plow new ground using unique technology in a state-of-the-art turnaround.

 

On June 25, about 35 HRCP crew members used nitrogen skates to turn around Mary's 2,500-ton cutter head and shield. They accomplished it in just eight hours.

In London, engineers used the same approach for a much smaller TBM in 2023. This friction reduction method had never been employed in the United States, making Mary’s impressive pivot to bore a parallel tunnel only the second application of this ‘nitrogen skate’ technology in the world as well as becoming the record holder for size and weight.

To learn more about how the HRBT Expansion Project accomplished another monumental milestone, visit hrbtexpansion.org. 

Construction of the new trestles across the Hampton Roads Harbor continues to make strides toward completion with the help of innovative bridge technology known as the beam launcher. The beam launcher, pictured above and sometimes referred to as a launching gantry, is designed to lift, propel, and precisely place heavy concrete girders into position one by one. 

Faced with space limitations and the challenge of minimizing impacts on travel during construction, Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP) opted to use this specialized piece of equipment to set concrete beams for the west bound North Trestle.  HRCP recognized this location was a perfect application for the beam launcher as there was not sufficient space to allow barge cranes to set the girders.  Operated by a crew of nine, specialized technicians, the beam launcher is effectively constructing the trestle structure.

This bold blue and yellow machine is nearly impossible for drivers and passengers to miss when traveling I-64. The tool’s efficiency and precision can’t be ignored. The beam launcher is yet another example of the integration of innovative engineering solutions on the HRBT Expansion.

Construction Engineer Zachary Hill has the 411 on how the system works. Click the photo or visit hrbtexpansion.org/videos/ to watch the beam launcher in action.  

According to the Federal Highway Administration, transportation projects with $500 million or more construction costs are aptly called "major projects." The $3.9 billion HRBT Expansion certainly fits the bill. 

FHWA's Major Projects Team traveled to Norfolk this month to take a closer look at how the project is shaping up. As one of the largest roadway projects currently underway in the nation, coordinating with FWHA helps ensure the project's compliance with federal standards and provides the Expansion team with a wealth of expertise and resources that are integral to the project's success.

Delivering transformative transportation solutions is a team effort. The HRBT Expansion team is proud to do their part with the support of regional, state, and federal partners. 

HRBT Deputy Project Director Pete Reilly meets staff from the Federal Highway Administration for a project overview at the future HRBT Welcome Center.

(Above) VDOT District Traffic Operations Managers from across the state were all smiles for their selfie with HRBT’s Mary The Tunnel Boring Machine as tunnel crews prepared to extract the 2500-ton cutterhead and shield.

As part of their second-year professional development experience, four VDOT EDGE (Engineering Development Growth Experience) Associates from several VDOT districts had the rare opportunity to tour the HRBT Expansion Project’s active construction sites.

Associates descended into the North Island receiving pit, to see Mary’s fascinating 180-degree turn in real time. The EDGE Associates left with plenty to share about their ground-level experience.

Environmental Manager, Larissa Ambrose holds a baby Royal Tern that was banded on July 6.

“VDOT’s environmental oversight function is disproportionately critical to ensure the agency’s stewardship commitments are met so critical resources are not destroyed or permanently impacted.”

One sentence, penned for an environmental stewardship nomination, succinctly describes the necessary mandates of a transformational transportation project and the commitment by a project team member to (almost) single-handedly harness the responsibility.

It should surprise no one that person is Larissa Ambrose, VDOT’s Environmental Manager for the HRBT Expansion.

Pete Reilly, HRBT Expansion Deputy Project Director, nominated Larissa for achievements in three key areas over the past year. They include Waste Avoidance/Creative Reuse for her work with HRCP's environmental team to incorporate debris from concrete demolition work into reefs, supporting the habitat at creation efforts of the Virginia

Marine Resources Commission. At the same time, she encouraged additional debris materials be used for a City of Norfolk beach placement project to address erosion concerns.

Second, Ambrose is regarded as the Agency voice to ensure passive control measures are in place to discourage bird nesting, and to require appropriate actions are taken if nesting does occur. Finally, her broad technical knowledge and skills are cited as an asset for a roadway project that encounters some unusual aspects of environmental management, including unexploded ordnance, wildlife management via trained dogs, subsurface tunneling, and more.

Her pleasant and effective actions have prompted a change in the design-builder’s operations, namely by improving their environmental ratings and standing with regulatory agencies. Ambrose has kept her “oversight” eye on the prize all in the name of protecting the natural environment and resources within the footprint of the project.

In Reilly’s words, “To be selected for this recognition on the largest, most environmentally sensitive, most publicly visible project is no small accomplishment.” Congratulations to our hero and environmental champion, Larissa Ambrose, for receiving this award!

(Larissa Ambrose has worked for VDOT for more than five years. She joined the Hampton Roads District as an environmental permit writer and pivoted to the HRBT Expansion just six months later.

Before VDOT, she worked for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and her DEQ experience proved valuable to the expansion project. Like any project, Ambrose says it can have its challenges, but she insists, “This is such an incredible project to work on.”)

Several team members represented the HRBT Expansion Project this July at the 2024 North American Tunneling Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. This biennial event, hosted by the Underground Construction Association, welcomes roughly 1200 industry professionals to discuss advances, challenges, and innovations in tunneling and underground construction.

This year, HRBT Construction Engineer Pa Ousman Njie led a technical session highlighting the design of the project's tunnel approach structure. The presentation detailed the shaft design process, construction, quality oversight, and project progress. Engineers from across the country got a closer glimpse into the infrastructure built into the HRBT island expansions.

Ousman has been an HRBT Expansion Project team member since February 2023.

With 24/7 Express Lanes open in Chesapeake and Norfolk and more on the way—including as part of the HRBT Expansion—here's how the toll pricing works and why the prices change.  

What sets the Hampton Roads Express Lanes (HREL) network apart as a traffic management tool versus typical fixed-rate toll facilities: 1) the optional dynamic tolling only for solo drivers*, and 2) a toll-free carpooling incentive for vehicles with two or more people and an E-ZPass Flex switched to “HOV-On.”  

Solo drivers can choose to use the Express Lanes by paying the posted toll, which adjusts every few minutes based on real-time traffic conditions. Dynamic tolling is used to maintain travel time reliability and help manage traffic flow, offering an innovative and cost-effective long-term solution for congestion. The lanes also serve as an HOV lane, free to vehicles with 2+ people, encouraging carpooling, freeing up general purpose lane capacity, and reducing overall congestion. 

As Express Lanes traffic grows, toll prices increase to reduce the amount of traffic entering and overcrowding the lanes, ensuring smoother and more reliable trips in the Express Lanes. Lower traffic volumes result in lower tolls to encourage more solo drivers to use the Express Lanes, freeing up space in the general purpose lanes. Occasionally, toll prices may spike much higher than average, indicating traffic delays or backups in the Express Lanes, usually due to a crash or incident. These temporary higher toll rates are intended to deter more traffic from entering, encouraging the use of general-purpose lanes instead.  

HREL revenue will be used for tolling operations costs, followed by the repayment of funding secured to develop HREL, and ultimately, may be used toward continued interstate improvements for congestion relief in Hampton Roads, ensuring a smoother commute for years to come. HREL tolling will be managed by the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission, who also secured the critical funding support that made the HREL network possible.   

*Remember, an E-ZPass transponder is required to use the Express Lanes. The toll rate you see when you enter is the rate you pay, even if it changes while you’re using that segment. 



For more information, visit www.64expresslanes.org