Portion of Virginia I-64 To Shut Down For Emergency Lane Exercise

RICHMOND —  Interstate 64 east between Exit 205 near Richmond and Exit 231 near Williamsburg will be closed on July 21 from approximately 4:30 to 7 a.m. while several state agencies test the I-64 Emergency Lane Reversal Plan.

The partial lane reversal exercise will close I-64 east between exits 205 and 231 as well as the on and off ramps at exits 211, 214, 220 and 227. Traffic will be detoured onto U.S. Route 60 east during the exercise. In addition, the New Kent rest area on I-64 east will be closed during the exercise. No actual westbound traffic will be routed onto the eastbound lanes during the exercise. There will be no impact to traffic or the rest area on I-64 westbound.

The Virginia State Police, Virginia National Guard and the Virginia departments of Emergency Management and Transportation will practice closing six traffic control gates and test inter-agency coordination efforts and radio communications.

An actual lane reversal of I-64 would involve detouring westbound traffic from the Norfolk and Virginia Beach area onto the reversed eastbound lanes near the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (Exit 272). The lane reversal would terminate at the I-295 interchange near Richmond (Exit 200). A reversal can be ordered by the governor to speed the evacuation of the Hampton Roads region in the event of a hurricane or other disaster.