Commonwealth Transportation Board Approves Location For Hampton Roads Crossing Expansion

The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) today unanimously approved a preferred alternative to ease congestion and improve travel on the I-64 Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.  Alternative A will widen about 12 miles of I-64 to a consistent six-lane facility from I-664 in Hampton to I-564 in Norfolk.  The alternative includes a new parallel bridge tunnel.  Alternative A is in the Hampton Roads Crossing Study Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS).

“Today’s endorsement of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion clears the way for a leap forward in regional connectivity and congestion relief,” said Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne. “After years of talk and analysis, we now have the funding and the decision to act. This is monumental for Hampton Roads and Virginia. Commuters, businesses, our port and the military will all reap the benefits of this long sought-after solution to one of the biggest bottlenecks in the Commonwealth.”

Public reviews of proposed alignments were held in July 2015, December 2015, and September 2016. Based on the Draft SEIS and public comments, Alternative A was advanced to the CTB for approval as the location for the project.

Alternative A, as identified in the Draft SEIS, received unanimous support from the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization and the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission on October 20, 2016. The federal Cooperating Agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, also had no objections to the alternative.

Alternative A will increase capacity in the existing corridor, increase regional accessibility, improve emergency evacuation capability and military connectivity, reduce congestion and improve access from the Port of Virginia.

Alternative A also has the least number of wetland impacts of any of the build alternatives retained in the SEIS.

The adopted alternative is expected to cost an estimated $3.3 billion and the project is included in the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization Long Range Transportation Plan.

Over the coming months the CTB will be briefed on options for potential management of the new lanes, including the use of high occupancy vehicle lanes or high occupancy toll lanes. The CTB also authorized The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to continue working with other parties to advance separate studies to identify appropriate access points around Craney Island.

Today’s action by the CTB also rescinds the prior location decision for a preferred alternative (I-64 Hampton Roads Third Crossing) that was made on July 20, 2000.

The CTB’s vote allows VDOT to proceed with documenting the preferred alternative and responding to public comments in a Final SEIS.  The Final SEIS will include commitments to avoid any permanent property impacts at Hampton University. VDOT anticipates a Final SEIS being published in the summer of 2017. Following publication of the Final SEIS, VDOT can request a Record of Decision (ROD) from the Federal Highway Administration. The ROD will allow VDOT to advance with more detailed designs. VDOT anticipates requesting and receiving a ROD in the summer of 2017 on Alternative A.

Jim’s Journeys … Traveling the TTA Highway

Greetings from the road!  

I was back out again last week and this time I headed through Central Virginia, hitting the Richmond suburbs, Waynesboro, Staunton and Culpeper

The Public Works Directors of Central Virginia are a busy bunch. Sorry so many of you were in meetings, but I hope to hear from you if you need any training, books or resources.

I did get a chance to meet with Steven Yob in Henrico County.  Hopefully we’ll be able to set up his

work zone training soon!

Also, if you have a training room and would like to host one of our classes, please give Robin Carpenter a call!  She’d be more than happy to work with you on setting something up.  Her number is 434-982-2897.

If you weren’t in when I stopped by but you got an arm full of books and brochures and would like to talk about your training needs feel free to drop me a line (my email is below). 

Watch for information about when I’ll be traveling to your location. Or contact me at jwz9m@virginia.edu to schedule a visit.

I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.

Study Shows Why Urbanites Keep Living In And Loving Their Cities

In Zipcar’s first-ever nationwide study of urbanites, we talked to more than 1,200 people to try to understand their attitudes about work, money, technology, transportation, and urban citizenship.

With the high cost of rent, entertainment, the challenges of an always-on world, and being constantly surrounded by tons of other people, it may seem surprising to some that more and more people are opting to live in cities. But what keeps them there is being in close proximity to work, rich culture, nightlife and friends and family.

We found that technology can be both a blessing and a curse for the urbanite. With all of the apps that simplify a hectic lifestyle—from matchmaking to food delivery—a smartphone is a vital resource for urbanites. 37% of urbanites told us they’d rather give up their cars, laptops and TVs before their smartphones.

On the other side of the digitalverse, we also learned that urbanites felt they needed to be “unplugged” for 16.5 hours before feeling truly relaxed!

Read the rest of the story here.

Why America’s Roads Are So Much More Dangerous Than Europe's

A jump in traffic fatalities over the past two years has brought well-deserved media attention to this tragic aspect of American life. Such deaths are up 7 percent in 2015, and 10 percent for the first six months of 2016 — a phenomenon news outlets are describing as “surprising,” “sudden,” and “unexpected,” an unpleasant departure from the historic trend toward greater safety. We are on track to kill 38,000 vehicle occupants, motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians in 2016.

The White House has issued a call to action, asking researchers to scrutinize the data on all road deaths. Officials there appealed to the public as well for ideas about combating distracted, drunken, and other dangerous driving.

Attention to traffic death is long overdue, but to focus on the recent increase means missing a much bigger point.

Even before that spike upward, per capital traffic fatalities in the US were already the highest in the industrialized world. No other developed country tolerates the level of carnage on their roads that we do. This national failure has been overlooked for far too long. Studying short-term variations in our safety record is important, but it can also distract us from investigating the forces contributing to our horrendous safety record compared to our peers.

Read the rest of the story here.

DC Bike Lanes Improve Commute, Health And Social Life

It’s not easy to get around Washington, DC. It’s really, really not!

There’s ample evidence of this. Tune into WTOP for the regular traffic report -- “traffic on the eights, and when it breaks” -- and listen to the anchor with a thick mid-Atlantic accent recite a real-time litany of congested area highways.

If you need more convincing, I present to you Exhibit B: An entire podcast, produced by WAMU, solely devoted to the chaotic commuting nightmare that is the Washington Metro system. It’s aptly named “Metropocalypse,” and it’s harrowing.

Or just compare it to other cities. Last year, the Urban Mobility Institutenamed the city the nation’s most congested.

Read the rest of the story here.

Odds of Boston Cyclists Being Injured In Crashes Drop

The odds of cyclists being injured in an accident in Boston have decreased significantly in recent years as the city has made a slew of changes to promote bike riding and improve safety, Harvard University researchers have found.

The study, published in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health, concluded there was a 14 percent reduction in the odds of being injured in a cycling accident for each year from 2009 through 2012.

The lead author, Felipe Pedroso, said the reduced risk came as Boston made a host of changes, including dramatically expanding bike lane mileage citywide, installing more signs, improving crosswalks, and rolling out the Hubway bike-share program in 2011. The study shows that “improvements in infrastructure result in increases in safety,” Pedroso said.

Read the rest of the story here.

Vancouver’s Multi-Modal Success Story

Vancouver's Multi-Modal Success Story from STREETFILMS on Vimeo.