Midtown Tunnel (Virginia)
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Traffic on the Norfolk Approach to the Midtown Tunnel
|
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Status |
|
| Route |
 US 58
|
| Crosses | Elizabeth River |
| Operation | |
| Opened |
|
| Owner | VDOT |
| Operator | Elizabeth River Crossings |
| Traffic | vehicle |
| Toll |
|
| Vehicles per day | 40,000 |
| Technical | |
| Number of lanes | 4 (two per tunnel) |
| Operating speed | 35 mph |
| Tunnel clearance | 13.5 ft |
| Width | 8.5 feet (without permit); 11 feet (with permit) |
The Midtown Tunnel crosses the main channel of the Elizabeth River in the South Hampton Roads area of Virginia where it is one of two tunnels that link the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth. It carries U.S. Highway 58 and operated without tolls until February 1, 2014.
The two-lane Midtown Tunnel was completed September 6, 1962, supplementing the Downtown Tunnel and the Berkley Bridge. It was the second fixed crossing directly between Portsmouth and Norfolk across the Elizabeth River. It was financed and built by the Elizabeth River Tunnel Commission with toll revenue bonds. In 1988 and 1989, during an expansion of I-264, the Downtown Tunnel and the Berkley Bridge were rebuilt and expanded. Tolls were also removed from the Midtown and Downtown tunnels at that time. Prior to 2007, the westbound lane of US Route 58, right before the tunnel's entry, had an HOV lane that spanned a total of 25 yards. Until its removal during construction in 2007, this lane allowed HOV traffic to merge in right at the tunnel entrance. There is some speculation that this might have been the shortest HOV lane in the United States, and possibly the world.
During its first year of operation, 8,400 vehicles per day crossed through the tunnel. As port traffic expanded between Norfolk International Terminals and Portsmouth Marine Terminal during the 1980s, tunnel volumes increased year over year, reaching 40,000 vehicles per day in 2013, 3% of which is at least a truck with one trailer (as is typical of trucks leaving the port). As this number greatly exceeds its original capacity, hours of congestion are both a routine and daily occurrence at the crossing.
In September, 2003, the Midtown Tunnel was flooded and seriously damaged by Hurricane Isabel. The facility is equipped with floodgates designed for closure to protect it from flooding during extreme weather conditions such as East Coast hurricanes. As flood waters were rising during the storm, workers were unable to remove plates that were both bolted and tack-welded to the roadbed. As a result, the flood gates could not be completely closed and the tunnel filled with an estimated 44 million gallons of water. The tunnel suffered substantial electrical and mechanical damage, but was not damaged structurally. It was closed for nearly four weeks as water and sediment was pumped out, systems inspected, and essential repairs were completed. It was later determined that managers of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) had failed to adequately test the floodgates. VDOT revamped its operating procedures at all of its tunnels in the wake of the incident. Studies of additional harbor crossings have also gained additional attention since then.
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Wikipedia