HJR 194: Transportation Network of Hampton Roads

June 10, 2008

The Joint Subcommittee to Study the Transportation Network of Hampton Roads met in Suffolk on June 10, 2008. Delegate Chris Jones and Senator Quayle were unanimously elected chairman and vice chairman, respectively.

Presentation

Mike Robinson
ODU, Senior Project Scientist, Virginia Modeling, Analysis & Simulation Center
Mike Robinson of the Virginia Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation Center (VMASC) at Old Dominion University (ODU) explained that the Hampton Roads Transportation Authority had proposed six options to address the transportation concerns in Hampton Roads. These options include:

• Third Crossing.
• Southeastern Expressway/Dominion Boulevard.
• Midtown Tunnel /Martin Luther King extension.
• Improvements to U.S. Route 460.
• Widening of I-64 on Peninsula to Route 199.
• Widening of I-64 on Southside, including the High Rise Bridge, from Battlefield Boulevard to Bowers Hill.

ODU, through VMASC, will contribute to the General Assembly's efforts to address the transportation concerns of Hampton Roads by modeling the current network and impacts of these six alternatives, both singly and in various combinations. VMASC will use modeling and simulation techniques to assess each alternative's impact on congestion levels and to identify locations with the highest congestion.

Mr. Robinson anticipates that the report will be complete in mid-November and will provide an analysis of “no build” impact; an analysis of alternatives (such as number and location of bottlenecks, length of congested periods during peak flow, total travel time and total expected delay between selected origin/destination pairs); the impact of one proposed Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) modification, including effect of tolls; and the ability of alternatives to overcome nonrecurrent events.

Mr. Robinson further explained that VMASC would need the following information:

• Desired sequence of alternatives analysis.
• Current and anticipated travel demand, network capacity, and incident data.
• Alternative combinations of greatest interest.
• Known planned developments that will impact alternatives and analysis.
• Areas of congestion of greatest interest.
• Primary concerns in addition to congestion to be examined as funding permits.
• One desired HRBT alternative.

The chairman asked the members to name their areas of greatest concern. After reviewing all suggestions, four areas of concern were proposed for the study?the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, the Midtown/Downtown Tunnels, Bland Boulevard to Route 199 on the Peninsula, and the Third Crossing. Mr. Robinson stated that VMASC had enough information to move forward on its analysis.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on September 10, 2008, at 10 a.m. at the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center located in Suffolk.

Chairman:
The Hon. S. Chris Jones

For information, contact:
Alan Wambold, Caroline Stalker , DLS Staff

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