VIRGINIA BEACH -- It's the day tens of thousands of Va. Beach drivers have been waiting for - the day the I-264 London Bridge ramps open.
That day will Wednesday - in time for the morning rush, the Va. Dept. of Transportation announced Monday.
Construction crews created a new ramp from I-264 east to London Bridge Road and an on-ramp from London Bridge Road to I-264 west. VDOT says there will be less congestion on the Lynnhaven Parkway exit and will eliminate stopped traffic from I-264 during peak travel periods.
“It’s going to be huge,” Mayor Will Sessoms told WVEC.com. “The new ramp ought to make a big difference in traffic flow in and around that corridor, especially for people who have had to use the Lynnhaven Parkway exit to get to Great Neck and London Bridge roads.”
VDOT’s research shows the ramps will reduce the traffic by 32%. Existing combined traffic volumes at the I-264 eastbound off-ramps at Lynnhaven are 19,700 vehicles per day, according to VDOT.
"There won't be any ceremony. The barriers will be removed from the interstate and its open," VDOT spokeswoman Brooke Grow told WVEC.com.
In an email Monday, Councilman Bill DeSteph reminded drivers to pay extra attention, noting that a new on and off ramp can present a whole new set of challenges.
Officials say the project is eight months ahead of schedule and came in under budget. Just how much under budget isn't exactly known.
Grow says final paperwork and small items with the contractor aren't quite done, but she would expect to have a figure in the next month or so.
TRAFFIC BY THE NUMBERS (FROM VDOT)
The existing combined traffic volumes at the I-264 eastbound off-ramps, at Lynnhaven Parkway, are 19,700 vehicles per day. The combined traffic volumes at the I-264 westbound on-ramps are 29,200 vehicles per day.
By the year 2032, without improvements to the interchange, these volumes are projected to grow respectively to 22,000 and 32,300 vehicles per day.
With the addition of the proposed London Bridge Road on- and off-ramps, projected traffic volumes at the existing I-264/Lynnhaven Parkway Interchange ramps will decrease to 14,600 vehicles per day eastbound and 22,400 vehicles per day westbound, reducing 2032 traffic volumes by approximately 32%.
