Interstate 64 in Virginia

This article is about the section of Interstate 64 in Virginia. For the entire length of the highway, see Interstate 64.

Interstate 64
Route information
Maintained by VDOT
Length:	297.62 mi (478.97 km)
Existed:	1957 – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-64 / US 60 at West Virginia state line
	I-81 near Lexington I-81 near Staunton I-95 in Richmond I-295 near Richmond I-664 in Hampton I-264 in Norfolk
East end:	I-264 / I-664 in Chesapeake
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Business Virginia Routes Interstate U.S. Primary Secondary History Turnpikes ← SR 63 SR 65 →

In the U.S. state of Virginia, Interstate 64 runs east–west through the middle of the state from West Virginia to the Hampton Roads region, a total of 298 miles (480 km). It is notable for crossing the mouth of the harbor of Hampton Roads on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, the first bridge-tunnel to incorporate man-made islands. Also noteworthy is a section through Rockfish Gap, a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which was equipped with an innovative system of airport-style runway lighting embedded into the pavement to aid motorists during periods of poor visibility due to fog or other conditions.

Route description

Entering from West Virginia, I-64 passes through Covington, to Lexington. From Lexington to Staunton I-64 overlaps Interstate 81 in the Shenandoah Valley. From Staunton, I-64 leaves I-81 and passes through Waynesboro and crosses Afton Mountain and passes by Charlottesville to reach Richmond. Through Richmond, I-64 overlaps Interstate 95 for several miles. From Richmond, I-64 continues southeasterly past Williamsburg and through Newport News and Hampton on the Virginia Peninsula to reach the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel which it utilizes to cross the main shipping channel at the entrance to the harbor of Hampton Roads from the Chesapeake Bay. In South Hampton Roads, I-64 passes through Norfolk and a portion of Virginia Beach to end in Chesapeake at Bowers Hill, where it meets both the western terminus of Interstate 264 and the southern terminus of Interstate 664 near the northeastern corner of the Great Dismal Swamp.

Since 2006, from Exit 200 (Interstate 295) to Exit 273 (U.S. Route 60 east of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel), a contraflow lane reversal system is in place to hasten an evacuation of the Hampton Roads area. Hurricane gates are installed at eastbound Interstate 64 entrance and exit ramps, and crossover roads are in place near the aforementioned exits. During a hurricane evacuation, the eastbound lanes of I-64 will be reversed into westbound lanes so hundreds of thousands of residents can evacuate.

History

Map from a 1958 study, showing the two routes between Clifton Forge and Richmond

A portion of Interstate 64 between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Short Pump in Henrico County closely follows the path of the historic colonial-era Three Notch'd Road, which had been established in the Colony of Virginia by the 1730s, and was largely replaced in the 1930s by U.S. Route 250.

From the time it was added to the proposed Interregional Highway System, I-64 was to use the U.S. Route 250 alignment west of Richmond. In the late 1950s, a number of interested citizens including Virginia Senator Mosby G. Perrow, Jr., proposed that I-64 be realigned to run along U.S. Route 220, U.S. Route 460, State Route 307, and U.S. Route 360 from Clifton Forge via Cloverdale (near Roanoke), Lynchburg, and Farmville to Richmond. The state continued planning for the piece of the US 250 alignment from Richmond to Short Pump, which would be needed anyway to handle traffic.

This southern route was favored by Gov. J. Lindsay Almond Jr. and most members of the State Highway Commission. The decision was on hold for three years. In 1961, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Luther Hodges rejected that plan and chose the present route, leaving Lynchburg as the largest city in Virginia not served by an interstate. Officially, the chosen route was considered more efficient. However, there is speculation that the decision involved "back-room" politics of the Kennedy administration. The first section of I-64 to open to traffic was in November 1957 with the six-mile (10 km) section in Hampton from VA-134 Magruder Boulevard to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, which had only recently been completed as a two-lane facility built with non-interstate highway toll revenue bond funding. The second tube and four-laning of approaches to the bridge-tunnel was accomplished almost 20 years later with federal Interstate Highway funds and the tolls were removed at that time.

Hampton Roads Beltway

Main article: Hampton Roads Beltway

Looking north on I-81 at its junction with I-64 I-64 on the Hampton Roads Beltway, north of I-264 Interstate 64 in Alleghany County. Note the narrow median. Interstate 64 shields in Lexington.

I-64 east from a point near the Hampton Coliseum forms part of the Hampton Roads Beltway, a circumferential highway which passes through the major cities of Hampton Roads. At the terminus of I-64, Interstate 664 begins, passing through Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk before crossing the harbor via the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel to reach Newport News and Hampton, completing the loop. The beltway is signed Inner Loop and Outer Loop to help avoid confusion.

The eastern terminus of I-64 is not the road's easternmost point. After crossing Hampton Roads through the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and entering Norfolk, the road makes a wide loop toward Virginia Beach and through that city's northwest side. The road then curves toward its final destination on the west side of Chesapeake. From the point where the road enters Chesapeake, I-64 "east" actually runs westward, ending at a location known as Bowers Hill near the edge of the Great Dismal Swamp where it becomes Interstate 664. Today, I-64 is no longer signed as east or west between Bowers Hill and the east junction with I-264 to limit possible confusion; instead it is signed as the inner or outer loop of the Hampton Roads Beltway. All entrance ramps between these two locations are signed with control cities that differ according to the location of the exit. For inner (westbound) traffic, Suffolk is the most common control city used, although Norfolk is used at two entrances in Chesapeake to indicate the most direct route to Norfolk (via Interstate 464). For outer (eastbound) traffic, Norfolk, Hampton, and Virginia Beach are variously used.

Interstate 64 in the Hampton Roads area is gradually being augmented with HOV-2 lanes. In the 1990s, reversible HOV-2 lanes were added between I-564 and I-264. A relatively simple design, it allows only direct exits to the aforementioned termini, slip ramps beyond them, and an additional pair of slip ramps just west (compass north) of the I-264 interchange. The reversible lanes operate westbound from around midnight to noon and eastbound from around noon to midnight. HOV restrictions are only in place during rush hour periods; at other times, any vehicle may use the lanes except during reversals at noon and midnight. Access is controlled by clock-controlled automated gates, and each ramp has multiple gates to provide a safeguard against malfunction. Beyond the reversible lanes, increasing lengths of Interstate 64 (and its spur routes) are receiving HOV-designated left lanes, subject to restrictions during rush hours. Such extensions are ongoing.

Interstate 64 has two three-digit bypasses that are shorter than the main leg for through traffic, both in the Hampton Roads area. Interstate 664, which connects the Virginia Peninsula to South Hampton Roads on the western side of Chesapeake (and to the eastern terminus of I-64), is about 15 miles (24 km) shorter than the bypassed main leg. Interstate 264, which passes through downtown Norfolk, is about a mile (1.6 km) shorter than the main leg it bypasses.

Interstate 64 passes through the historic African-American neighborhood of Jackson Ward in Richmond, Va. When the interstate was being built in the late 1950s, a cemetery was displaced, resulting in several coffins being forced into the James River. The builders of the interstate also destroyed a house on Fifth Street, which was the birthplace of legendary dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.

Exit list

County	Location	Mile	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Alleghany	Callaghan	0.00	0.00		I-64 west – Lewisburg	West Virginia state line
				1	Jerry's Run Trail
				7	SR 661 – Callaghan	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				10	US 60 east / SR 159 south to SR 311 – Callaghan	East end of US 60 overlap
City of Covington				14	SR 154 – Hot Springs, Covington
				16	US 60 west / US 220 north – Hot Springs, Covington	West end of US 60/US 220 overlap
Alleghany				21	SR 696 – Low Moor
	Clifton Forge			24	US 60 Bus. east / US 220 Bus. south (SR 384) – Clifton Forge
				27	US 220 / US 60 Bus. west / SR 629 – Clifton Forge	East end of US 220 overlap; Accessibility to Roanoke via US 220 South
	Nicelytown			29	SR 42 north / SR 269 east – Nicelytown
				35	SR 269 / SR 850 – Longdale Furnace, Nicelytown
Rockbridge				43	SR 780 – Goshen
	Kerrs Creek			50	US 60 east / SR 623	East end of US 60 overlap
City of Lexington				55	US 11 to SR 39 – Lexington, Goshen
				56	I-81 south – Roanoke	West end of I-81 overlap
				195	US 11 – Lexington
Rockbridge				200	SR 710 – Fairfield
	Raphine			205	SR 606 – Raphine
Augusta	Mint Spring			213	US 11 to US 340 north – Mint Spring, Waynesboro
				217	SR 654 – Mint Spring
City of Staunton				220	SR 262 to US 11 – Staunton
				87	I-81 north – Staunton, Winchester	East end of I-81 overlap
Augusta	Fishersville			91	SR 285 to SR 608 – Fishersville, Stuarts Draft
City of Waynesboro				94	US 340 – Waynesboro, Stuarts Draft
				96	SR 624 – Waynesboro, Lyndhurst
				99	US 250 – Waynesboro, Afton	Serves the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive
Albemarle	Yancey Mills			107	US 250 – Crozet, Yancey Mills
				114	SR 637 – Ivy
City of Charlottesville				118	US 29 – Lynchburg, Culpeper, Charlottesville	Signed as exits 118A (south) and 118B (north)
				120	SR 631 (5th Street) – Charlottesville
				121	SR 20 – Scottsville, Charlottesville	Signed as exits 121A (south) and 121B (north) eastbound
				124	US 250 – Shadwell, Charlottesville
Albemarle				129	SR 616 – Keswick, Boyd Tavern
Louisa	Zion Crossroads			136	US 15 – Gordonsville, Palmyra
	Ferncliff			143	SR 208 – Ferncliff, Louisa
Goochland				148	SR 605 – Shannon Hill
				152	SR 629 – Hadensville
Louisa	Gum Spring			159	US 522 – Gum Spring, Goochland, Mineral
Goochland				167	SR 617 – Goochland, Oilville
				173	SR 623 – Rockville, Manakin
				175	SR 288 south – Chesterfield
Henrico	Short Pump			177	I-295 south – Mechanicsville
				178	US 250 – Short Pump, Richmond	Signed as exits 178A (west) and 178B (east)
				180	Gaskins Road	Signed as exits 180A (south) and 180B (north)
				181	Parham Road	Signed as exits 181A (south) and 181B (north) westbound
	Dumbarton			183	US 250 (Broad Street) / Glenside Drive	Signed as exits 183A (Glenside Drive south), 183B (US 250 east), and 183C (US 250 west, Glenside Drive north) westbound
				185	US 33 (Staples Mill Road) / Dickens Road	Signed as exits 185A (west) and 185B (east) eastbound
City of Richmond				186	SR 197 (Laburnum Avenue)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				186	I-195 south to SR 76
				187	I-95 north – Fredericksburg	West end of I-95 overlap
				78	SR 161 – Rosedale, Carillon
				76B	US 1 (Belvidere Street) / US 301	No northbound exit
				76A	Chamberlayne Avenue	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				190	I-95 south – Petersburg	East end of I-95 overlap
				190	3rd Street, 5th Street - Downtown Richmond	access to the Richmond Coliseum
				192	US 360 – Mechanicsville
Henrico	Highland Springs			193	SR 33 (Nine Mile Road)	Signed as exits 193A (west) and 193B (east)
				195	Laburnum Avenue
				197	SR 156 – Sandston, Highland Springs	Signed as exits 197A (south) and 197B (north)
				200	I-295 / US 60 – Hopewell, Norfolk	Use I-295 south to US 60.
New Kent	Bottoms Bridge			205	SR 33 west / SR 249 east to US 60 – Quinton, Bottoms Bridge	West end of SR 33 overlap
	Talleysville			211	SR 106 – Roxbury, Talleysville, Prince George
	Carps Corner			214	SR 155 – Providence Forge, New Kent
	Angelview Church			220	SR 33 east – West Point	East end of SR 33 overlap
James City	Toano			227	SR 30 to US 60 – Toano, Williamsburg, West Point
	Norge			231	SR 607 to SR 30 – Norge, Toano, Croaker	Signed as exits 231A (SR 30, Norge) and 231B (Croaker)
York	Lightfoot			234	SR 199 east / SR 646 west – Lightfoot	Signed as exits 234A (east) and 234B (west) westbound
City of Williamsburg				238	SR 143 east to US 60 – Camp Peary, Colonial Williamsburg
				242	SR 199 / Colonial Parkway – Busch Gardens, Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown	Signed as exits 242A (west) and 242B (east)
				243A	US 60 – Busch Gardens
				243B	SR 143 west – Williamsburg	No entrance ramps
James City				247	SR 143 / SR 238 – Lee Hall, Yorktown
City of Newport News				250	SR 105 (Fort Eustis Boulevard) – Fort Eustis, Yorktown	Signed as exits 250A (west) and 250B (east)
				255	SR 143 (Jefferson Avenue)	Signed as exits 255A (east) and 255B (west)
				256	SR 171 – Poquoson, Newport News	Signed as exits 256A (west) and 256B (east)
				258	US 17 (J. Clyde Morris Blvd.) – Yorktown, Portsmouth	Signed as exits 258A (south) and 258B (north)
City of Hampton				261A	Hampton Roads Center Parkway west
				261B	Hampton Roads Center Parkway east	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				262B	SR 134 north (Magruder Boulevard) – Poquoson, NASA Langley Research Center	West end of SR 134 overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				263	US 258 / SR 134 south (Mercury Boulevard) - Hampton Coliseum, James River Bridge	Signed as exits 263A (US 258 south) and 263B (US 258 north/SR 134 south) westbound
				264	I-664 south – Downtown Newport News, Suffolk, Chesapeake
		West end of Hampton Roads Beltway overlap; eastbound becomes inner loop and westbound becomes outer loop
				265A	SR 134 east (Armistead Avenue) / La Salle Avenue	Former SR 167 south
				265B	SR 134 west (Armistead Avenue) / La Salle Avenue	No inner (eastbound) exit; former SR 167 north
				265C	SR 134 (Armistead Avenue)	access to the Langley AFB; Inner (eastbound) exit only
				267	US 60 west / SR 143 (Settlers Landing Road/Woodland Road) – Hampton University	Outer (west) end of US 60 overlap
				268	SR 169 east (Mallory Street) – Fort Monroe
Hampton Roads				Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel
City of Norfolk				272	West Ocean View Ave – Willoughby Spit
				273	US 60 east (4th View Street) – Ocean View	Outer (west) end of US 60 east overlap
				274	Bay Avenue - Naval Air Station Norfolk	Outer (westbound) exit and inner (eastbound) entrance
				276	I-564 / US 460 (Granby Street) to SR 406 (Terminal Boulevard) – Naval Station Norfolk	Signed as exits 276A (US 460) and 276B (I-564) on outer loop (westbound)
				276C	SR 165 to US 460 west	Outer (westbound) exit and inner (eastbound) entrance
				277	SR 168 (Tidewater Drive)	Signed as exits 277A (south) and 277B (north)
				278	SR 194 (Chesapeake Boulevard)
				279	SR 247 (Norview Avenue)	Signed as exits 279A (west) and 279B (east) on outer loop (westbound); access to the Norfolk International Airport
				281	SR 165 (Military Highway) / Robin Hood Road	Signed as exits 281A (Robin Hood Road) and 281B (SR 165 south) on inner loop (eastbound)
				282	US 13 north (Northampton Boulevard) – Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
				284	I-264 / Newtown Road – Downtown Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach	Signed as exits 284A (west) and 284B (east); inner (eastbound) exit 284A includes a flyover to I-264 east, so exit 284B is signed only for Newtown Road in that direction
		Inner (east) end of signage as east/west; only inner (east)/outer (west) beyond
City of Virginia Beach				286	Indian River Road	Signed as exits 286A (west) and 286B (east); former SR 407
City of Chesapeake				289	Greenbrier Parkway	Signed as exits 289A (north) and 289B (south)
				290A	SR 168 north (Battlefield Boulevard)	Outer (west) end of SR 168 overlap
				290B	SR 168 Bus. south (Battlefield Boulevard) – Great Bridge
				291A	I-464 – Downtown Norfolk
				291B	US 17 south (Dominion Boulevard) / SR 168 south - Elizabeth City, Nags Head, Great Bridge	Inner (east) end of SR 168 overlap; outer (west) end of US 17 north overlap; access from outer loop (westbound) to US 17 south is at exit 292
				292	US 17 south / SR 190 - Elizabeth City	Outer (west) end of US 17 south overlap; outer (westbound) exit only
				296	US 17 north / US 17 Bus. south – Portsmouth, Deep Creek	Inner (east) end of US 17 overlap; signed as exits 296A (north) and 296B (south) on inner loop (eastbound)
				297	US 13 / US 460 (Military Highway)
				299A	I-264 east – Portsmouth, Norfolk	Inner (eastbound) exit and outer (westbound) entrance
		297.62	478.97	299B	I-664 / US 13 / US 58 / US 460 – Bowers Hill, Suffolk, Newport News	Inner (eastbound) exit and outer (westbound) entrance
Concurrency terminus       Closed/former       HOV only       Incomplete access       Tolled/ETC       Unopened

See also

• Interstate 264
• Interstate 464
• Interstate 564
• Interstate 664
• Hampton Roads Beltway
• State Route 164

External links

Template:Attached_KML/Interstate 64 in Virginia

Interstate 64
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