THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 21, 1995 TAG: 9512210355
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
For the second time in as many months, traffic counts have increased substantially at several of the region's key bridges and tunnels.
The numbers have given the region's transportation experts further cause to worry that major roads will not be able to keep pace with future demands.
They're also baffled about the reason for the sudden and mysterious spikes in non-summer traffic and are anxiously awaiting December's figures.
November's counts for several crossings were so dramatic that officials at the state Department of Transportation rechecked them to be sure they were correct.
Comparing 24-hour traffic counts this November with November 1994, the Downtown Tunnel linking Portsmouth to Norfolk saw a 24 percent increase - the largest among four key crossings.
For October, the tunnel saw a 22 percent rise over last October.
Some of that could be attributed to the 1 1/2-year closure of Chesapeake's Jordan Bridge, which is used often by Norfolk Naval Shipyard workers. But transportation planners say the bridge - which reopened last Friday - does not handle enough vehicles to substantially affect the Downtown Tunnel.
Traffic at the Midtown Tunnel increased 6 percent in November - a substantial amount for a two-lane tunnel. In October, the Midtown had a 3.4 percent increase.
The overstuffed Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel got a reprieve of sorts in November. Traffic there increased about 4 percent after a record-setting 11 percent increase in October.
This still puzzled experts, who said any increase of more than 1 percent is amazing for a bridge-tunnel that is well over capacity.
``The only way this increase can continue is that traffic is flowing heavy during non-peak hours,'' said Dwight Farmer, transportation director for the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission. ``That really applies to the Downtown Tunnel as well. Essentially, you're running near capacity all day long during the work hours.''
At the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, the region's newest, traffic increased 15 percent. In October, it jumped 16 percent.
More significantly, the increases there occurred during months when local traffic counts typically plummet after the tourist season.
``There seems to be a lot of connection between the Southside and western areas,'' Farmer said. ``And we're seeing a significant increase between the Southside and Peninsula.''
Although it is far too early to tell, it appears that the region is finding more time to travel between the Southside and Peninsula. Also, it appears that recent increases in development in areas of Western Tidewater are beginning to be felt in the core cities.
Normally, given the region's economic climate, major transportation corridors would see annual increases of 2.5 percentto 3.5 percent. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
NOVEMBER TRAFFIC INCREASES:
Downtown: 24%
Midtown: 6%
Hampton Roads: 4%
Monitor-Merrimac: 15%
by CNB