VDOT seeks cause of HRBT flooding

HAMPTON, Va. - The views from Chopper 10 showed just how bad the traffic got in the days before the July 4th holiday weekend. A broken water main leaked water into the westbound lanes of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, forcing authorities to close one of the few routes to the Peninsula.

Traffic, already a problem on the bridge-tunnel, turned into a nightmare, as cars had to turn back and go all the way around to the Monitor Merrimac Bridge-Tunnel or the James River Bridge.

Crews have already started working on the problem, closing down one lane of I-64 West to begin the repair process. But, in a decision meant to avoid more traffic back ups during the holiday weekend, VDOT has held off on more lane closures throughout the weekend.

"We postponed working last night because of the impacts it would've had on the people trying to get in and out of the area," explained Lauren Hansen, VDOT spokeswoman, "and tonight we also had a lot of traffic during the day so we postponed it there as well."

Instead of creating a mirror image of the traffic scene during the later part of last week, VDOT has opened all lanes of the bridge-tunnel. Crews will return to work Monday night, but they'll wait until traffic has died down for the night before beginning.

VDOT crews are still searching for the cause of the flooding, which prevents them from pinpointing a day to finish repairs. But until then, they say they're trying to ensure traffic flows as smoothly as possible between lane closures.