NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Drivers who normally use the HOV Express Lanes to drive Interstate 64 to and from the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel will have to use the general travel lanes beginning Monday morning, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Work is being done in the express lanes beginning Monday morning through Oct. 28, VDOT said.
It means the HOV lanes around the I-64/I-264 interchange will be closed to drivers going west on I-64 to the HRBT.
However, for drivers who need to get to I-564 toward Naval Station Norfolk, they will still be able to use the HOV lanes, and they will not be charged, VDOT said.
Drivers who are in the HOV lanes trying to get to the HRBT will instead be routed onto I-564, meaning they’ll have to endure a detour. Those drivers heading to the HRBT will need to stay in the general population lanes, which may mean a longer trip.
“Safety is VDOT’s number one priority, and we want to make sure that these closures are necessary to protect the motorists as well as our crews working on the road,” said VDOT spokeswoman Nina Ulrich. “And this is part of the Hampton Roads Express Lanes Norfolk construction 1A segment project, and that’s between Tidewater Drive and Patrol Road. And the Hampton Roads Express Lanes Norfolk segment that this construction is being performed for, it’s part of the larger Hampton Roads Express Lanes network that, once complete, we’re going to have express lanes from west of Denbigh Boulevard in Newport News all the way to the I-664 interchange in Suffolk.”