VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — According to the DMV, the Interstate 264-Independence interchange is the number one crash cluster in Hampton Roads, and Independence Boulevard just off of the interstate is the second-highest non-interstate crash cluster in Virginia Beach.
And while the city’s transportation division manager said there is a preferred alternative to make the Independence Boulevard intersection interchange safer, those plans are nearly two decades away from possible implementation.
Transportation Division Manager David Jarman briefed City Council on a trio of possible fixes to the intersection, but said alternative two is the preferred choice.
“We think it gives us the best benefit-cost ratio,” Jarman said. “It gives us the best alternative with the safety issues and the construction issues without being so expensive that it prices its way out of favorability.”
The plan has a center-turn overpass in which through-traffic is below and turning traffic is above.
“In any intersection, you have the turning movements that cause a lot of the safety issues where people get t-boned or side-swiped or things like that,” Jarman said.
That will solve problems, like cars on Independence forced to merge over seven lanes of traffic to make left-hand turns, like into the Best Buy. … In concept, it will allow the through-movement to focus on going through, and not having to get over or dealing with turning traffic or merging traffic.”
The goal is to eliminate traffic weaving where cars are moving in and out of other cars.
Jarman showed 10 On Your Side one intersection in which there’s a stop at the end of the ramp, and then you go north on Independence Boulevard.
“The purpose of this plan is to improve safety by eliminating some of the weaving motion and some of the transitions,” Jarman said.
The plan would also implement median U-turns currently used at Indian River and Kempsville roads.
“On Indian River, there are median U-turns so what you do to get through this intersection, you go through the intersection, you go to a signal-controlled U-turn, and then you come back and make a right turn. You are no longer making a left turn across three or four lanes of traffic.”
The city said the work on Independence Boulevard could begin in 18 years.
The question is what can Virginia Beach do in the meantime to make this a safer area to travel to.
