NEW KENT COUNTY, Va. -- An expansion will soon be coming to a portion of Interstate 64 in New Kent County.
I-64 is a six-lane highway for most of the state of Virginia, excluding 29 miles of the highway. The Virginia Department of Transportation is looking to widen the last 29 miles which are four-lane portions of the interstate.
The last 29 miles are referred to as the GAP which is something proposals are working to close by widening the 10 miles of the GAP that falls in New Kent County.
VDOT is looking to spend $277 million to turn the four-lane part of the highway into six lanes. Part of the project also adds paved shoulders on both the inside and outside lanes, rehabilitation to multiple bridges, signs, storm drainage and more.
On Tuesday night, VDOT held a public hearing at the New Kent Visitors Center to hear from residents in the area.
Neighbor Sam El-dada expressed concerns about the proposed widening, specifically the additional noise the widening of the interstate may bring.
He said VDOT studied if a sound wall would be effective but concluded it would not be cost-effective for the area because the homes in New Kent are so spread out.
"It’s something we’re probably going to have to live with," he said.
Timothy Jones also expressed some concern about the noise but said he also sees a greater benefit, specifically commercially and with leisure activities where the wider interstate could increase the pace of travel.
VDOT plans to take feedback until December 23 after which they'll take the information into consideration before moving forward with the next steps for building.
They anticipate the request for proposals for the project to take place in the spring of 2023, the design-build contract to be awarded in the fall of 2023 and the completion of the project to happen in the winter of 2026 or 2027.
If you’d like to weigh in on the project you can email Anthony.Haverly@VDOT.Virginia.gov.
