Interstate 264 (Virginia)
Interstate 264 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 I-264 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route ofI-64 | ||||
| Maintained byVDOT | ||||
| Length | 25.07 mi[1][2][3](40.35 km) | |||
| Existed | 1960–present | |||
| NHS | Entire route | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |   I-64/I-664inChesapeake | |||
| ||||
| East end | Parks Avenue / 21st Street in Virginia Beach | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Virginia | |||
| Counties | City of Chesapeake,City of Portsmouth,City of Norfolk,City of Virginia Beach | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Interstate 264(I-264) is anInterstate Highwayin theUS stateofVirginia.It serves as the primary east–west highway through theSouth Hampton Roadsregion in southeastern Virginia. The route connects the central business districts ofChesapeake,Portsmouth,Norfolk,andVirginia Beachand serves as the most direct link between those cities and the resort beaches along Virginia's Atlantic coast.
It runs from a junction withI-64andI-664(Hampton Roads Beltway) nearBower's HillinChesapeakeeast into Portsmouth and through theDowntown Tunnelunder theSouthern Branch Elizabeth Riverinto Norfolk. At theI-464interchangein theBerkleysection of Norfolk, I-264 turns north, crossing theEastern Branch Elizabeth RiverintoDowntown Norfolkon theBerkley Bridge,one ofa small number of drawbridgeson theInterstate Highway System.I-264 then heads east through Norfolk, crossing I-64 at the east side of theHampton Roads Beltwayand into Virginia Beach, where it ends at Parks Avenue just short of theAtlantic Ocean.From this point, 21st and 22nd streets continue as aoneway pairwith no route designation toU.S. Route 60(US 60, Pacific Avenue).
The original section of I-264, designated in the late 1950s, lies between the two I-64 junctions. The piece east to the Virginia Beach waterfront was built as theVirginia Beach–Norfolk Expressway(atoll roaduntil 1995) and carried State Route 44 (SR 44) until I-264 was extended over it in 1999.
When I-64 was augmented in the 1990s with reversibleHOVlanes, I-264 toward Virginia Beach (then SR 44) was designated as the eastern terminus of thereversible lanesand one of the few direct exits from/entrances to the HOV lanes.
I-264 is a part of theNational Highway Systemfor its entire length.[4]A toll for use of the Downtown Tunnel began February 1, 2014. Tolls are collected electronically and (as of 2019[update]) set at $2.20 during peak hours and $1.79 during offpeak hours forE-ZPassusers.
Route description
[edit]
I-264 begins at afull Y interchangein theBower's Hillarea of the city of Chesapeake. This interchange also serves as the eastern terminus of I-64 and the southern terminus of I-664, which together comprise theHampton Roads Beltway.I-664 is used to accessUS 13,US 58,andUS 460,which all head west towardSuffolk.I-264 heads northeast as a four-lane freeway into the city of Portsmouth, where the highway meets Greenwood Drive at acloverleaf interchangeandSR 239(Victory Boulevard) at adiamond interchangewhere the Interstate expands to six lanes. The Interstate Highway begins anunsignedconcurrencywithU.S. Route 460 Alternate(US 460 Alt.) at a partial interchange withSR 337(Portsmouth Boulevard), which allows access between I-264 toward Chesapeake and SR 337 toward Norfolk and between SR 337 toward Chesapeake and I-264 toward Norfolk. I-264 continues east through apartial cloverleaf interchangewithUS 17(Frederick Boulevard). A partial junction with Des Moines Avenue allowed access to and from the west,[1][5]but, since November 2013, access to Des Moines Avenue has been permanently closed for construction of the Martin Luther King Freeway interchange. (As of January 2014[update],traffic can still reach westbound I-264 from this junction, but that is expected to close later in the year.)
I-264's final interchange in Portsmouth provides access toSR 141(Effingham Street) in downtown Portsmouth; westbound I-264 traffic has ramps to and from Bart Street. This interchange, which also serves theNorfolk Naval Shipyard,is where the Interstate reduces to four lanes and descends into the Downtown Tunnel under theSouthern Branch Elizabeth River.I-264 surfaces in the city of Norfolk and immediately has an interchange with I-464, which heads south toward Chesapeake. The I-464 interchange also provides access to Berkley Avenue in the Berkley section of Norfolk. I-264 curves north as an eight-lane highway that crosses theEastern Branch Elizabeth Riveron a drawbridge. At the north end of the drawbridge, the two directions of the Interstate temporarily split and have a series of ramps to Waterside Drive, St. Paul's Boulevard, City Hall Avenue, and Tidewater Drive at the eastern end of Downtown Norfolk. These streets provide access toHarbor Park,a baseball stadium that is home to theNorfolk Tides,[1][5]and theNorfolk stationforAmtrakservice to routes along the northernI-95corridor.[6]
I-264 continues east as an eight-lane freeway between the Eastern Branch Elizabeth River to the south andHampton Roads Transit'sTide Light Railtracks to the north. The Interstate has an interchange with US 460,SR 166,andSR 168,which head northwest toward Downtown Norfolk as Brambleton Avenue and south across the river as Campostella Road. There is no access between Brambleton Avenue and I-264 toward downtown. East of US 460, the freeway passes to the south ofNorfolk State Universityand has a diamond interchange withSR 405(Ballentine Boulevard). I-264 crosses Broad Creek and gainscollector–distributor lanesfor the next three, closely-spaced interchanges. These junctions include a cloverleaf interchange with US 13 (Military Highway), a cloverleaf interchange with several flyover ramps at I-64 (Hampton Roads Beltway), and a partial cloverleaf interchange withSR 403(Newtown Road). The middle carriageway of I-64 headed north, which has two HOV lanes, merges with both directions of I-264 heading east. I-264 enters the city of Virginia Beach at the Newtown Road interchange.[1][5]
I-264 continues east as the Virginia Beach Expressway, an eight-lane freeway where the innermost lane in each direction is an HOV lane. The first two interchanges in Virginia Beach, a partial cloverleaf junction withSR 190(Witchduck Road) and a cloverleaf interchange withSR 225(Independence Boulevard), serve thePembroke Manorarea, which is the central business district of the city. Independence Boulevard also leads southeast towardMount Trashmore Park,a reused landfill that is visible from the freeway, and further on toward theVirginia Beach Amphitheaterand eventually the city's government center atPrincess Anne.I-264 next has a partial cloverleaf interchange with Rosemont Road and a cloverleaf interchange with Lynnhaven Parkway, which leads to theLynnhaven Mall.The Interstate crosses London Bridge Creek, a tributary of theLynnhaven River,ahead of a partial interchange with London Bridge Road (also providing access to Great Neck Road) and then a crossover interchange that connects the freeway toward Norfolk with US 58 (Laskin Road) andU.S. Route 58 Business(US 58 Bus., Virginia Beach Boulevard) toward the oceanfront. I-264's HOV lanes end and the highway reduces to six lanes ahead of the interchange with First Colonial Road north ofNaval Air Station Oceana.The Interstate crosses Great Neck Creek and has its final interchange, a partial interchange with Bird Neck Road that provides an alternative route to the oceanfront, before approaching its eastern terminus at Parks Avenue just north of theVirginia Beach Convention Center.The carriageways continue east as a oneway pair, 21st Street eastbound and 22nd Street westbound, east to US 60 (Pacific Avenue) and Atlantic Avenue at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.[2][5]
History
[edit]Original I-264
[edit]Originally, in 1960, I-264 was planned as anInterstate HighwaythroughDowntown Norfolk.
Virginia Beach Expressway
[edit]
State Route 44 | |
|---|---|
| Location | Norfolk-Virginia Beach |
| Length | 12.19 mi[1][2](19.62 km) |
| Existed | 1967–1999 |
TheVirginia Beach Expressway(also known as theVirginia Beach–Norfolk Expressway) was a 12-mile (19 km) limited-access highway built toInterstate Highwaystandards extending between theindependent citiesofNorfolkandVirginia Beach, Virginia.Until 1999, it was signed asState Route 44(SR 44).
Built and funded withtoll revenue bonds,it opened on December 1, 1967, as SR 44. The expressway ran from an interchange withI-64and I-264 in Norfolk almost due east to the oceanfront area of Virginia Beach. The original road had four lanes (two each way). It was widened to six lanes in the 1980s and to eight lanes in the early 1990s.
A two-tier toll structure existed, with lower tolls for those who passed the main toll barrier between Rosemont Road and Independence Boulevard. Technical errors were common; alarms installed to alert police of a nonpaying motorist would often be activated by the machine's failure to detect the insertion of the proper toll.
| Vehicle type | Main toll barrier | Exit before/enter after barrier |
|---|---|---|
| Cars and other two-axle vehicles | $0.25 | $0.10 |
| Other vehicles | $0.25 + $0.10/axle over two | $0.05/axle |
On June 1, 1995, the bonds were retired, and tolls and toll booths were removed in 1996. In July 1999, the former Virginia Beach Expressway was renumbered to I-264, effectively creating an eastward continuation of the original I-264, which ran through the downtown areas of Portsmouth and Norfolk and ended at I-64 (where the expressway began). This is now the point where I-264 intersects and crosses the I-64 portion of theHampton Roads BeltwaynearMilitary Circle Mallin Norfolk.
Exit list
[edit]| County | Location | mi[1][2] | km | Old exit | New exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CityofChesapeake | 0.00 | 0.00 |      I-664north (Hampton Roads Beltwaynorth) toUS 13/US 58/US 460–Bowers Hill,Suffolk,Richmond | Western terminus; southern terminus of I-664 | |||
 I-64west (Hampton Roads Beltwayouter loop) –Chesapeake,Virginia Beach | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; eastern terminus and exit 299A on I-64 | ||||||
| CityofPortsmouth | 1.33 | 2.14 | 2 | Greenwood Drive | Signed as exits 2A (east) and 2B (west) | ||
| 2.62 | 4.22 | 3 | Victory Boulevard (SR 239) | ||||
| 3.56 | 5.73 | 4 |   SR 337east (Portsmouth Boulevard) | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |||
| 3.56 | 5.73 | 4 |  SR 337west (Portsmouth Boulevard /US 460 Alt.west) | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; west end of US 460 Alt. overlap | |||
| 4.28 | 6.89 | 5 |  US 17(Frederick Boulevard) | ||||
| 6 |  SR 164(Martin Luther King Freeway) –Norfolk | ||||||
| 5.27 | 8.48 | 6 | Des Moines Avenue | Former eastbound exit and westbound entrance, closed April 14, 2014 to make way for new Midtown Tunnel interchange[7] | |||
| 5.94 | 9.56 | 7 |  SR 141(Effingham Street) / Crawford Street | Signed as exits 7A (south) and 7B (north) eastbound | |||
| 6.50 | 10.46 | Toll gantry | |||||
| Southern Branch Elizabeth River | 6.81 | 10.96 | Downtown Tunnel | ||||
| CityofNorfolk | 7.36 | 11.84 | 8 |   I-464south / Berkley Avenue (SR 337south) –Chesapeake | West end of SR 337 overlap | ||
| Berkley BridgeoverEastern Branch Elizabeth River | |||||||
| 7.52 | 12.10 | 9 | Waterside Drive (SR 337 Alt.east) / St. Paul's Boulevard (US 460 Alt.east) | East end of US 460 Alt. overlap | |||
| 7.77 | 12.50 | 10 | Tidewater Drive(SR 337north) | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; east end of SR 337 overlap | |||
| City Hall Avenue | No direct eastbound exit | ||||||
| 8.68 | 13.97 | 11A |    US 460west /SR 166west /SR 168south (Campostella Road) / Claiborne Avenue | Signed as exit 11 eastbound; no westbound entrance | |||
| 8.68 | 13.97 | 11B |  US 460east /SR 166east /SR 168north (Brambleton Avenue) | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |||
| 9.49 | 15.27 | 12 | Ballentine Boulevard (SR 405) | ||||
| 13 | US 13(Military Highway) | Signed as exits 13A (south) and 13B (north) | |||||
| 12.88 | 20.73 | 14 |   I-64(Hampton Roads Beltway) toI-664north –Hampton,Richmond,Chesapeake,Suffolk,Norfolk International Airport | Signed as exits 14A (east), 14B (west), and 14C (left exits I-264 east to I-64 west and I-264 west to I-64 east) | |||
| CityofVirginia Beach | 13.62 | 21.92 | 1 | 15 | Newtown Road (SR 403) | Signed as exit 15A (north/south) eastbound, upon completion of replacement exit 15B, will be resigned southbound-only/Greenwich Rd. | |
| 15B | Newtown Road (SR 403) north | Closed; former eastbound exit, closed July 15, 2018 to make way for improvements to exit 14 and Newtown Rd/Greenwich Rd intersection, including a roundabout that includes eastbound onramp[8]Exit currently being rebuilt; once complete, eastbound exit 15A will become southbound-only/Greenwich Rd. | |||||
| 15.02 | 24.17 | 2 | 16 | Witchduck Road (SR 190) | Eastbound exit being redesigned fromparclotodiamond interchange | ||
| 16.3 | 26.2 | 3 | 17 | Independence Boulevard (SR 225north) -PembrokeArea,Princess Anne | Signed as exits 17A (south) and 17B (north); formerSR 410south | ||
| 18.64 | 30.00 | 4 | 18 | Rosemont Road | FormerSR 411 | ||
| 20.48 | 32.96 | 5 | 19 | Lynnhaven Parkway (SR 417) | Signed as exits 19A (south) and 19B (north); formerSR 414south | ||
| 19C | London Bridge Road | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance;[9]toSR 279 | |||||
| 21.65 | 34.84 | 6 | 20 | US 58east (Laskin Road) /Virginia Beach Boulevard(US 58 Bus.east) | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | ||
| 23.07 | 37.13 | 7 | 21 | First Colonial Road –Oceana Naval Air Station | Signed as exits 21A (south) and 21B (north) eastbound; formerSR 408 | ||
| 24.43 | 39.32 | 8 | 22 | Birdneck Road -Oceanfrontalternate route | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | ||
| 25.07 | 40.35 | Parks Avenue / 21st Street –Virginia Beach Oceanfront | Eastern terminus | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdef"Daily Traffic Volume Estimates Jurisdiction Report: Norfolk Maintenance Area"(PDF).Virginia Department of Transportation. 2009.RetrievedMay 30,2011.
- ^abcd"Daily Traffic Volume Estimates Jurisdiction Report: Princess Anne Maintenance Area"(PDF).Virginia Department of Transportation. 2009.RetrievedMay 30,2011.
- ^"Table 2 - Auxiliary Routes - FHWA Route Log and Finder List - Interstate Highway System - National Highway System - Planning".www.fhwa.dot.gov.Federal Highway Administration.December 31, 2021.RetrievedMarch 18,2022.
- ^National Highway System: Virginia Beach, Virginia(PDF)(Map). Federal Highway Administration. March 2005.RetrievedMay 30,2011.
- ^abcdGoogle(May 30, 2011)."Interstate 264"(Map).Google Maps.Google.RetrievedMay 30,2011.
- ^Forster, Dave (December 3, 2013)."Amtrak Station officially opens in Norfolk".The Virginian-Pilot.RetrievedMay 4,2015.
- ^"I-264 East Des Moines Ave. Off-Ramp Scheduled To Close Thursday, November 21"(PDF).Elizabeth River Tunnels. November 20, 2013.RetrievedDecember 26,2013.
- ^"HAMPTON-ROADS-CLOSURES-ON-WATER-CROSSINGS"(PDF).Virginia Department of Transportation.July 22, 2018.RetrievedMay 15,2019.
- ^Messina, Debbie (September 2, 2010)."Work to begin on new Va. Beach I-264 interchange".hamptonroads.com.Archived fromthe originalon September 4, 2010.RetrievedMarch 18,2022.
External links
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