THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 23, 1996 TAG: 9608230060
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 100 lines
Even if 12 to 14 lanes were added to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel by 2015, studies show there still would be gridlock during peak hours.
So transportation planners are looking at other options to move the massive number of motorists who want to travel between South Hampton Roads and the Peninsula.
Their focus is on building a third bridge-tunnel across the Hampton Roads harbor. It would include an innovative ``multi-modal'' lane for car pools, express buses or light rail.
The project, which could cost billions of dollars, would help bind South Hampton Roads and the Peninsula as one region.
The group exploring the region's transportation needs, the Hampton Roads Crossing Study Committee, has narrowed the alternatives to 12. All but one would require a third crossing of the harbor at costs ranging from $1.3 billion to $3.3 billion.
``We are truly stretching for a long-term improvement in mobility across Hampton Roads,'' said Philip A. Shucet, vice president of Michael Baker Jr. Inc., the consulting group conducting the $6 million study.
The options largely hinge on adding a third tunnel. The main differences are the specific routes and the roads leading to it.
One set of options calls for a new span that would run east of the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel and curve around Craney Island in Portsmouth to end near Norfolk International Terminals and Terminal Boulevard in Norfolk. Sinking two sets of tunnels would be required - one in the Hampton Roads harbor and the other in the Elizabeth River.
A variation includes building a spur that also takes vehicles to Craney Island.
Other variations explore where the facility would connect in Newport News, either to a widened Interstate 664 or a new highway along the CSX Railroad corridor.
A second set of options would be a new bridge-tunnel parallel to the Monitor-Merrimac, but with an interchange on the Monitor-Merrimac bridge to divert motorists east toward Norfolk International Terminals. This option, too, requires two new tunnels.
Again, variations include a spur to Craney Island and connector roads in Newport News.
Another set of options would be a new bridge and tunnel parallel to the Monitor-Merrimac. A variation places a new tunnel east of the existing tunnel and the new bridge would merge into the existing alignment.
A new bridge and tunnel parallel to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel is yet another option.
Shucet said no option is preferred, although one likely will be eliminated Monday at a meeting of the crossing study committee - widening Virginia Route 460 through Suffolk - based on a consultant's suggestion.
In each proposal, the tunnel would have two lanes in each direction, plus two lanes for multi-modal traffic. The multi-modal lanes could connect to carpool or High Occupancy Vehicle lanes or possibly with a light rail system.
Light rail is being studied in South Hampton Roads, which would link the Virginia Beach Oceanfront to downtown Norfolk and Norfolk Naval Base. Light rail is also being considered on the Peninsula from Richmond to Newport News.
State transportation ``officials said they didn't want the solution to be a traditional highway solution, that they wanted something beyond that,'' Shucet said. ``So we're looking at all modes of transportation. We don't want any presumed solutions.''
The final selection of location likely will be made next summer after a public comment period and reviews by the study committee, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Commonwealth Transportation Board, said Larry Ricks, VDOT project manager and chairman of the study committee.
Ricks said the selection will be based on costs, funding, environmental impacts, public sentiment and how effectively it reduces congestion.
The study began three years ago to explore ways to relieve congestion on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, which is operating beyond capacity.
About 88,000 vehicles use the facility daily. But Shucet estimates the demand is closer to 200,000 vehicles per day.
``A lot of trips are simply not being made because of congestion,'' Shucet said. ``The demand for those trips are so high. It's the folks who live here who want to do something on the other side of the water but don't because of traffic.''
It's now commonplace for traffic to slow to a crawl at the tunnel on weekdays during business rush hours, as well as at the start and end of weekends because of tourist trips.
The Monitor-Merrimac, which was completed in 1992 for $400 million, is operating below capacity at 33,000 vehicles per day.
But officials declare it a success because it is diverting significant numbers away from the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. The average number of vehicles per day at Hampton Roads in July was 87,000, a decrease of 2,000 from July 1995.
Another issue is how to pay for the project. The cost of another water crossing is about equal to the region's entire highway construction budget for the next 20 years, Shucet said. And finding the money to build new roads is getting harder.
Ricks said tolls are a likely funding source.
``Based on current economic trends and changes in transportation funding levels, this will be our last shot to do something across the water,'' Shucet said. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
The Virginian-Pilot
ELEVEN ALTERNATIVE ROUTES ACROSS HAMPTON ROADS
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm] by CNB