Dewberry to provide QA for $3.8B Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel project

HRBT is largest construction project in Va. and VDOT history

Published July 31, 2020 by Sydney Lake

Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. Photo courtesy Virginia Department of Transportation

Fairfax-based engineering consulting firm Dewberry announced Friday it will provide quality assurance services for the entire $3.8 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) project — the largest construction project in Virginia and the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) history.

A contract amount was not disclosed.

The Interstate 64 HRBT is currently 3.5 miles long and has two-lane tunnels which connect artificial islands with trestle bridges to shore. The expansion is expected to take five years and will include twin two-lane bored tunnels, which will increase capacity for traffic. Tunnel boring machines are being used for only the fourth time in the nation to complete the project.

“This design-build project requires a robust quality program and our team, working in collaboration with the tunnel contractor and VDOT, will help deliver a successful construction project,” Dave Mahoney, Dewberry executive vice president, said in a statement. “The two new tunnels and bridge/roadway improvements will have a huge impact on traffic safety and ease the congestion in such a populated area of Virginia.”

In February 2019, Hampton Roads Connector Partners, a joint venture led by New York-based Dragados USA, won the design-build contract for the project. This spring and early summer, workers relocated utilities on South Island and shifted lanes on the south-approach trestle, with North Island expansion set to start in October. To keep thousands of royal terns and other nesting seabirds out of the way of construction on South Island, a pack of 20 trained border collies are patrolling the island redirecting seabirds to a new, safe nesting ground at Fort Wool, an island off the coast of Norfolk.

The Willoughby Bridge is scheduled for widening starting in January 2021, followed by replacement of the north and south trestles in February, as well as the widening of the Oastes Creek Bridge. Next March and April the Mason Creek Bridge is set to be widened, and the Mallory Street Bridge will be replaced.

Land and tunnel work will happen simultaneously, with land work beginning this year and tunneling beginning in 2022. Underwater drilling will happen 24 hours per day, two years into the project. The Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission is the primary funding agent for this project, using local revenue from sales and gasoline taxes in the Hampton Roads Transportation Fund.

Founded in 1956, Dewberry offers engineering, geospatial, survey, mapping, environmental and construction services to government and commercial clients. The company employs a total of 2,000 people across more than 50 locations. Last year, it reported $470.8 million in revenue.