Monday, June 6, 2011

Encouraging the Use of the Monitor Merrimac Bridge Tunnel

The Virginia Department of Transportation has produced a video promoting the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnel as a preferable way for tourists to get to the beach, both in Virginia Beach and on the Outer Banks.

The idea to encourage out of area drivers to use the Monitor-Merrimac is a sound one.  As any experienced traffic reporter will tell you (as I'm telling you now), summertime backups at the Monitor-Merrimac are rare while Interstate-64 eastbound is often backed up five to six miles at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.

Video Claim:  the video says using I-664 to get to the Oceanfront is, "only a few miles further." 
The Facts:  The extra distance is about 17 miles, or 17 more minutes of driving, assuming there are no backups on I-664, 264 or 64 in Suffolk and Chesapeake.

View the video below.

By the way, V-DOT spokeswoman Lauren Hansen tells me the video was produced in-house, so it didn't cost any extra.





Links:
www.virginiadot.org
V-DOT on Youtube
511Virginia.org -- V-DOT's real-time traffic page, which includes information on accidents, road work and drawbridge openings.

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