THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, August 9, 1995              TAG: 9508090395
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                         LENGTH: Short :   41 lines

PROPOSAL WOULD RENUMBER 64, 664, 44 PLAN MAY REDUCE TRAFFIC JAMS AND BENEFIT TOURISM.

What's in a name? For regional planners, a proposal to renumber major highways in Hampton Roads could affect everything from traffic patterns to economic development and tourism.

Now, state transportation officials want citizens to weigh in on the plan to renumber Interstates 64 and 664 and Route 44.

The Virginia Department of Transportation will hold the first of two public meetings today on its proposal, which it says will reduce traffic congestion at the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and benefit tourists heading to Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks.

Today's public meeting will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, 723 Woodlake Drive, Chesapeake. The other meeting will be held Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the PENTRAN building, 3400 Victoria Blvd., Hampton.

The Virginia Beach and Chesapeake city councils have formally endorsed the state proposal.

Under the plan, Interstate 664 on the Peninsula would be renamed Interstate 64 and would link up with the current Interstate 64 after crossing the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel. Route 44 out to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront also would be renamed Interstate 64.

Tourists heading to the Oceanfront from the Peninsula, therefore, would be encouraged to bypass the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and take the new Interstate 64 the whole way.

Transportation officials and consultants expect about a 15 percent decrease in congestion at the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.

For more information on the plan, call the Hampton Roads Crossing Hotline at 1-800-276-4727. by CNB