The upcoming Midtown Tunnel expansion project is the subject of this week's Hampton Roads Topics. My guests are Lauren Hansen of the Virginian Department of Transportation and Leila Rice of Elizabeth River Crossings, the consortium that will operate and maintain the Midtown and Downtown Tunnels for the next 58 years. Here's the interview...
If you're dreading a return to the old days of traffic tie ups at the Route 44 toll booths near Mount Trashmore, think again. Commuters won't have to stop to pay the toll. Drivers with an EZ Pass transponder will pay the toll automatically.
Drivers without EZ Pass will "Pay by Plate." According to ERC's website,
"Pay By Plate, an electronic system whereby video cameras are used to capture license plate data, will also be used on the project. Vehicles that do not have E-ZPass transponders will be mailed an invoice for the toll due. Invoiced customers will be charged for cost recovery, which by Virginia law is capped at two times base toll rate."
The project will include the construction of a second Midtown Tunnel and a new road that will connect I-264 with Martin Luther King Freeway, thus creating a mini beltway between Portsmouth and Norfolk.
Preliminary work on the Midtown Tunnel is already underway. Construction work at what will become the openings to the second Midtown Tunnel tube will begin this fall, according to Rice.
On the web:
www.DriveERT.com
www.MidtownTunnel.org
