Stephany Hanshaw, the Eastern Regional Traffic Operations Manager for the Virginia Department of Transportation, tells me the project involves the removal of the overhead ceiling tiles, which are nearly 60 years old. They're not a safety hazard now but could become hazardous in the near future, he says. The tiles won't be replaced yet. Hanshaw says they don't have the engineering or the funding worked out yet.
The westbound Downtown Tunnel tube will be closed from 7pm Friday to 5am Monday on these weekends:
February 18 through February 21
February 25 through February 28
March 4 through March 7
March 11 through March 14
March 18 through March 21
March 25 through March 28
February 25 through February 28
March 4 through March 7
March 11 through March 14
March 18 through March 21
March 25 through March 28
You can hear my interview with Stephany Hanshaw this Sunday on Hampton Roads Topics, which airs at 6am on Star 1310, ESPN Radio 94.1, 92.9 The Wave and 97.3 The Eagle.
We also talked about the upcoming Midtown Tunnel expansion project, which will likely be the first of several public/private partnership road projects in Hampton Roads. Hanshaw says there will be tolls on both the Midtown and Downtown Tunnels.
If there's a silver lining to be found, it might be this. Hanshaw says toll booths, similar to what used to back up traffic on old Route 44, won't be found at the Midtown and Downtown Tunnels. An automated system using EZ Pay and toll cameras, like that at the Coleman Bridge, will be used instead.
Here's a page with more details about the Downtown Tunnel project.
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