Interstate 64

Interstate 64 In Virginia

Alleghany County to Charlottesville[edit]
I-64 and I-81 run together in Augusta County View west along I-64 near Waynesboro

I-64 enters Virginia as a four-lane divided highway, continuing its concurrency with U.S. 60 through Covington into Lexington where the two routes split. From Lexington, I-64 then turns northward to Staunton overlapping Interstate 81 in the Shenandoah Valley. From Staunton, I-64 leaves I-81 and passes through Waynesboro and crosses Rockfish Gap and continues eastward, passing just to the south of Charlottesville, closely following the path of the historic colonial-era Three Notch'd Road, which had been established in the Colony of Virginia by the 1730s, and was largely replaced in the 1930s by U.S. Route 250. Just outside of Charlottesville in Zion Crossroads, I-64 received the state's first diverging diamond interchange at its interchange with US 15, which opened to traffic on February 21, 2014, and completed on April 15, 2014.

Greater Richmond and the Virginia Peninsula[edit]
After Charlottesville, I-64 then turns more east-southeasterly and heads towards Richmond, passing through Fluvanna, Goochland and Louisa Counties. After entering Henrico County, and the Richmond Metro area, Interstate 64 interchanges and overlaps with Interstate 95 on a stretch of highway which was a part of the former Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike, passing near Downtown Richmond and through the historic African-American neighborhood of Jackson Ward. Once on the southside of Downtown Richmond, I-64 diverges from its concurrency with I-95 and continues southeasterly down the Virginia Peninsula through New Kent County and the Historic Triangle, into Newport News.

This portion of I-64 was set up by VDOT with a contraflow lane reversal system in place in the event of a mass evacuation of the Hampton Roads area region due to a hurricane or other catastrophic event. Gates are installed at the eastbound Interstate 64 entrance and exit ramps from Exit 200 (Interstate 295) to Exit 273 (U.S. Route 60 east of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel), and crossover roads are in place near the aforementioned exits.

Hampton Roads Beltway[edit]
Main article: Hampton Roads Beltway Map of the Hampton Roads Beltway Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel

About a mile before the southern interchange with VA 199 I-64 becomes a six-lane divided highway as it continues toward Hampton Roads. Shortly after entering its interchange with Denbigh Blvd (VA 173), I-64 enters Metro Hampton Roads and widens out to an eight-lane divided highway, continuing generally south-southeasterly into Hampton where it meets the northern terminus of Interstate 664 beginning the Inner Loop of the Hampton Roads Beltway. I-64 curves north-northeast to pass north of Downtown Hampton and cross the Hampton River, turning back southward to reach the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, which it utilizes to cross the main shipping channel at the entrance to the harbor of Hampton Roads from the Chesapeake Bay. Once on the Southside, I-64 turns south through Norfolk, passing the eastern boundary of Naval Station Norfolk and Chambers Field, and the spur route supplying it, Interstate 564. It then becomes a six lane divided highway with a two lane reversible roadway in the middle, which is used for HOV-traffic during morning and afternoon rush hours. It continues through Norfolk, curving multiple times and eventually ending up heading due south as it passes the interchange with another of its spur routes, Interstate 264 on the northwest side of Virginia Beach.

After I-264, there are no more directional markers on I-64 from here to its "eastern" terminus, because I-64 "east" will actually head west after its current southward course, and vice versa. From I-264 to its "eastern" terminus, it is simply only signed as I-64 and either the Inner and Outer loop of the Hampton Roads Beltway.

Shortly after the I-264 interchange, I-64 leaves Virginia Beach for the city of Chesapeake. It soon comes to a complex interchange between another of its spur routes, Interstate 464, along with SR 168 and U.S. 17. I-64, now running westward, crosses the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River using the High Rise Bridge. The road then curves northwesterly and ends at Bowers Hill, where it meets both the western terminus of Interstate 264 and the southern terminus of Interstate 664 near the northeastern corner of the Great Dismal Swamp. I-64's lanes continue northbound as I-664 to Newport News across the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnel, ending at I-64 in Hampton, completing the beltway.