| RELEASE: CONTACT: |
IMMEDIATE Sarah Sager (757) 424-9941 sarah.sager@VDOT.virginia.gov Mary Suman (757) 925-1660 |
HRO-650 Oct. 20, 2006 |
VDOT TO CONDUCT HURRICANE GATE EXERCISE TO TEST RESPONSE TO LANE REVERSAL
VIRGINIA BEACH — Hurricane season officially ends November 30, but that doesn’t mean the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has slowed down its hurricane preparation exercises. VDOT will conduct a hurricane gate exercise on Wednesday, October 25 at 2 p.m. at the I-64 east on-ramp from Route 238 (Lee Hall) in Yorktown. The exercise will test the newly installed hurricane gates and reinforce the procedure crews would have to follow to safely close an interstate on-ramp if I-64 is reversed during an evacuation.
VDOT will partner with the Virginia State Police (VSP) and the Virginia Army National Guard to conduct the gate exercise. All three agencies will send personnel out to the ramp to close the hurricane gates and place devices at the top of the ramp to prevent vehicles from entering.
“We want to make sure all personnel involved in a lane reversal know their role and how to safely close a ramp,” said Stephany Hanshaw, Facility Manager at VDOT’s Smart Traffic Center. “This exercise will help fine tune our coordination and bring to light any questions that might exist.”
VDOT is making every effort to minimize the traffic impacts by completing this exercise during off-peak travel hours. Message boards will be in place to direct motorists attempting to get on I-64 eastbound at Lee Hall to use the Ft. Eustis Boulevard interchange as an alternate route. The Lee Hall ramp will be completely closed for approximately 30 minutes as crews raise and lower the gates and place the traffic control devices.
For the past few years, VDOT has included the reversal of I-64 in its Hurricane Traffic Control Plan as a way to evacuate the region faster and get citizens out of the path of a hurricane. In the event of a major hurricane or other disaster, the governor can order an interstate lane reversal to help quickly evacuate the Hampton Roads area. In this instance, all lanes on I-64 will carry traffic westbound for about 75 miles from just before the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel (HRBT) to I-295 in Richmond.
To prevent motorists from driving the wrong way during a lane reversal, VDOT installed hurricane gates along I-64 east this past summer. A total of 71 gates were installed to prevent traffic from getting on I-64 eastbound while all lanes are heading west toward Richmond.
For more information about hurricanes or the lane reversal process, please visit www.VirginiaDOT.org and click on the Hurricane Guide icon in the right-hand corner. Call 511, tune into 610AM or visit www.VirginiaDOT.org for up-to-date traffic and travel information.
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VDOT will partner with the Virginia State Police (VSP) and the Virginia Army National Guard to conduct the gate exercise. All three agencies will send personnel out to the ramp to close the hurricane gates and place devices at the top of the ramp to prevent vehicles from entering.
“We want to make sure all personnel involved in a lane reversal know their role and how to safely close a ramp,” said Stephany Hanshaw, Facility Manager at VDOT’s Smart Traffic Center. “This exercise will help fine tune our coordination and bring to light any questions that might exist.”
VDOT is making every effort to minimize the traffic impacts by completing this exercise during off-peak travel hours. Message boards will be in place to direct motorists attempting to get on I-64 eastbound at Lee Hall to use the Ft. Eustis Boulevard interchange as an alternate route. The Lee Hall ramp will be completely closed for approximately 30 minutes as crews raise and lower the gates and place the traffic control devices.
For the past few years, VDOT has included the reversal of I-64 in its Hurricane Traffic Control Plan as a way to evacuate the region faster and get citizens out of the path of a hurricane. In the event of a major hurricane or other disaster, the governor can order an interstate lane reversal to help quickly evacuate the Hampton Roads area. In this instance, all lanes on I-64 will carry traffic westbound for about 75 miles from just before the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel (HRBT) to I-295 in Richmond.
To prevent motorists from driving the wrong way during a lane reversal, VDOT installed hurricane gates along I-64 east this past summer. A total of 71 gates were installed to prevent traffic from getting on I-64 eastbound while all lanes are heading west toward Richmond.
For more information about hurricanes or the lane reversal process, please visit www.VirginiaDOT.org and click on the Hurricane Guide icon in the right-hand corner. Call 511, tune into 610AM or visit www.VirginiaDOT.org for up-to-date traffic and travel information.
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Page last modified: Oct. 20, 2006
