The Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel Expansion project on the US east coast in Virginia will add much needed traffic capacities on the I-64 corridor between two thriving coastal port cities, Hampton and Norfolk. The existing connection was designed with a capacity of 77,000 vehicles per day. Today, the I-64 is used by approx. 100,000 cars and trucks, with tendency to rise. Two tunnels with two lanes each will be constructed parallel to the existing two tunnels. The total of eight lanes will double today’s capacity. The expansion project is the largest highway construction project in Virginia's history and currently one of the largest infrastructure projects in the U.S.
The Hampton Roads Connector Partners JV, comprising Dragados USA, Vinci Construction Grands Projets, Flatiron Constructors and Dodin Campenon Bernard, commissioned by the Virginia Department of Transportation ordered a Variable Density TBM with a shield diameter of 13,990mm from Herrenknecht to drive 2 x 2,440m of large-diameter road tunnel. The workshop acceptance at the Herrenknecht headquarters in Schwanau, Germany, was celebrated on May 06, 2021. The machine named “Mary” will be the second Herrenknecht TBM employed in the US for a road tunnel project following the Port of Miami Tunnel.
