By Lynda Myer
Considering that due to the unforeseen circumstances, the design-build contractor Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP), which is a consortium of Dragados USA, Vinci, Flatiron Constructors, and Dodin Campenon Bernard, requested an extension in the previous year, currently the completion date for the Hampton Roads-Bridge Tunnel Expansion (HRBT) has been pushed back 18 months.
The February 26, 2027 is scheduled date for substantial completion , while the final completion is on August 27, 2027; however, HRCP has an early completion incentive of US$90m if substantial completion is finished by September 2026.
As the largest highway construction project in Virginia’s history, the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel’s value is US$3.9bn and aims to reduce congestion along a 16km corridor on the I-64 through the addition of twin, two-lane bored tunnels and the widening of four-lane segments. It is the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) first bored tunnel.
According to statement of VDOT’s Hampton Roads district engineer, Christopher Hall: “VDOT and HRCP were determined to deliver a world-class infrastructure project for the Hampton Roads region as efficiently and safely as possible. A tremendous amount of work has been accomplished to date. HRCP has achieved a multitude of unprecedented milestones to include constructing the 15-acre expansion of the North Island, reassembling the second largest TBM in North America, completing the largest continuous concrete pour in VDOT history, and boring and building nearly 90% of the first of the two new tunnels.”
