As you said this is for security. What can city or state do to fix the problem. I guess they could tell Ft. Eustis people that they can't use the interstate. Just make sure you are not on City streets if that is done. It is only going to get worse as the base grows. I guess you are saying you don't want security at our military bases. There is nothing that can be done about this problem. I hope that you car pool to and from your locations. Maybe we can get soldiers to ride the bus and car pool to work to get this problem to go away. Any other thoughts from you.

As is stated below if people would learn how to drive carefully this would not happen.

The backup this morning was due to a traffic accident.

Donna Vick
Chief’s Staff

.Please contact someone at the Command / Security office at Ft Eustis for further information on their security checks. This is not a City of Newport News issue, it is a Department of Defense (DOD) that requires scheduled or random security checks at the military bases.

This is a small price to pay for freedom. Alpha traffic vectors are common place these days.

This is a small price to pay for freedom. Alpha traffic vectors are common place these days

As stated twice before this back up that was noticed was due to a crash that stopped traffic outside the base. As crashes happen all over they back up traffic. The only thing that can be done is create cars and people that pay attention and will PREVENT crashes. People need to pay attention but this is not something a government agency is going to fix. It is something that your fellow drivers have to fix.

If you think traffic is bad now just wait. I think I remember seeing articles in the newspaper that the bridge over the tracks is going to get fixed. When this goes under construction I bet things are going to be worse then what you are talking about now. That is going to be a construction project and we know things are bad during construction as well.

The issue comes down to wider roads. the city will repair this with the new budget. keep this open and it will get repaired, close it and it will fall off the city's radar.

Taylor this has NOTHING to do whatsoever with the road being widened. There was a major vehicle crash here involving numerous vehicles. Widening the road will not stop the crashes drivers slowing down and paying attention will stop the crashes. If people would just slow down and be patient knowing that traffic around EVERY Military base and tunnel in Hampton roads there would be a lot less crashes which causes traffic to stop vs just slowing down. Also this bridge is already due to be replaced the designs are finalized with VDOT and will soon be going out of bid so this road is not forgotten. Be prepared for construction to start this fall which will back up traffic even more. As for the safety checks at the military bases the city has no control over that. Be glad they are being proactive with surprise inspections instead of waiting until another attack happens to tighten down!

Stop it Alpha,
This is a symptom of a larger issue. You must stop trying to control the free blog with yout multiple personalitys. You have deep seated f?eelings of resentment toward local government and the citizens. You must deal with that. Who hurt you Alpha? Why is there all this pain trapped in you?

The City of Newport News has no control what so ever over the military installations! If they decided to step up security patrols we all just need to be patient and deal with traffic delays that comes with the territory. How ever they day this issue was raised there was a MAJOR traffic crash that came from careless driving habits from someone in too much of a hurry. Widening this road will not help the traffic problem any more because now instead of 2 lanes going in to the base you would have 3 lanes dumping in to a narrow point much like the bottle neck on I64 by Jefferson and it would actually back traffic up further. Also what is the point of increased random screening if you are going to make it public knowledge.. The point of random screening is to catch would be terrorists and law breakers unaware! Having lived in Hampton Roads now I have learned traffic is inevitable when it happens if you do not just be patient it only makes the situation worse. There are plenty of warning systems with the VDOT 511 line the numerous state and media websites that offer live traffic updates as well as electronic sign boards. Take a minute and check the traffic reports before you leave. Also as previously stated starting some time this fall Fort Eustis Blvd is slated for a major construction project to replace the bridges when this happens traffic will be majorly effected around I64 ramps once this happens. If you would like to call Ft. Eustis and tell them to stop trying to make the base safer for the personal stationed there as well as the community that surrounds it go right ahead! There is nothing the city can do otherwise. Just be patient and courteous of other drivers and allow for appropriate travel times.

This issue can me managed by government. The roads are to be shared by all. Leave the free blog open and let it work the way it should. We owe it to the founders of this site.

What can the government do about accidents. I have seen accidents on 4 lane or larger roads. If the lanes are blocked due to an accident traffic back ups. I am not sure where the rest of you are from where major accidents that have emergency services respond do not cause backups. Can you please let me know where I should move to so that when accidents happen in a travel lane traffic continues to use that lane. Accidents will always cause backups even if not on the same side of the road due to the public having to watch what is happening. Please leave this closed the government can't fix when accidents happen and that is the only time this backs up to the interstate in the mornings. Please leave this closed this is a peer driving skill issue not a government problem. You should maybe pay for ALL drivers to take driver refresher course so that accidents NEVER happen. Or maybe you could make sure that ALL people have smart cars that don't get into accidents. If you do reopen this tell me what the government agencies are supposed to do about accidents happening on public roads. Maybe they can close the road I guess that would make sure that accidents don't have. I travel this area every morning for years and don't see problems. Please leave this closed.

There are still concerns here. leave the free blog open and the issues will get addressed. Stop closing things that are not addressed yet yet alpha.

I fail to see an issue that needs to be fixed! The city can not fix stupid drivers!!! The only time this area backs up is due to crashes either on the interstate or immediate surrounding road ways.

Look, I-64 gets backed up from every little thing that happens on Ft. Eustis BLVD, not just major accidents. This IS an issue.

Yes, it needs to be addressed. Leave the blog open. do not supress the free blog. This is America! If someone wants to close all the blogs before they are repaired and insult the spirt and founders of this site, let them move to Korea.

I totally agree. this person is trying to close the blogs in all the citys. They have a control issue and possible adhd. leave the blog open.

I drive this area numerous times a day. Fort Eustis Blvd normally only backs up due to incidents on I64 and other roadways in the area. There is nothing the city can do to control occasional traffic back ups other then to urge drivers to use alternate routes. Even the office of the chief of police stated the particular day this complaint was reported that the back up was due to a major traffic crash. Issue closed!

Issue should be corrected before the blog is closed. Keep this open as the city moniters this site and responds to these postings. Please only close if you are the orginial poster.

Please keep this open until the orginal poster closes it. This way we can be sure the issue was addressed

Livid Larry are you still out there monitoring your post. Can you let fellow bloggers know what it is you want. Do you want VDOT to increase the lanes on I-64 for millions of dollars and please state how you would like them to acquire the money. Do you want the base to increase the number of lanes and officers they have to check stuff. If so how many lanes do you think would be enough. From what I have seen they have about 3-4 most mornings. What are your thoughts for number of lanes needed. Maybe you feel that Ft. Eustis Blvd should have its lanes increased to handle the extra flow that will come off the interstate. How many lanes of traffic do you recommend. This is your post please let fellow bloggers know what it is you are looking for. If you travel this daily you will know traffic is not as bad as you stated the morning you posted this. Even if you say they coordinate with the City what would the City do tell people to get off the interstate somewhere else or not allow people to use the road if things back up

Larry,
You keep the free blog open. The budget has been passed and funding is in position. Do not bow to sarcasm or people who are upset because of private contractors. You did the correct thing by reporting your issue here. Vdot monitors this site, along with others and they share your concern. As with most anything the government has to do, It just takes time. Keep up the faith!

Alpha I was wondering what budget you reviewed and where these improvements are. As a concerned citizen I reviewed the Newport News APPROVED budget located at this web site: http://www.nngov.com/budget-and-evaluation/downloads/adopted2013-2017cip.pdf. This is a five year plan. I reviewed the entire 250+ page report. I didn't see where improving I-64 or Ft. Eustis Blvd. I have also reviewed VDOT planned projects which is a six year plan http://syip.virginiadot.org/Pages/allProjects.aspx and didn't find it there either. Can you please let me know where you found the approved budget for these improvements to guide me in the right direction. Thanks Fellow Blogger

Please only close a blog if you are the orginial poster. This way, We will know if the issue has been repaired to the poster's satisfaction.

I didn't realise that I was required to submit an engineering plan when reporting a problem; however, if it makes you happy I can make a few suggestions.

For starters, Ft. Eustis can queue up their security check queue somewhere other than Ft, Eustis Blvd. Moving the checkpoint back would accomplish this. I've been on the base and there is more than enough room. Backing up traffic up on I-64 is neitrher a consequence nor a prerequisite for hightened security. It is a consequence of poor planning though.

There are also backups caused by trucks hitting guard rails on those exits. Not only should I-64 be 3 lanes everywhere in NN, the on/off ramps should also be redesigned. This should have been done long ago though. You don't wait for a problem to become a bigger problem to fix it. You anticipate traffic problems based on growth. The growth of NN was forecasted yet no one anticipated the traffic problems from a 2-lane central artery? Are you kidding me?

Before anyone attempts to widen the lanes on the bridge, they had better widen I-64 beyond Ft. Eustis Blvd first. It doesn't take Nostradamus to see that bottleneck in our future.

I say this issue is addressed as best it can be, Therefore, I close this issue. Please put this issue in the archives.

I disagree and choose to keep it open.

There was another ridiculous delay on I-64 about 7:00 PM last night.

Issue is unresolved.

They are not widening Ft Eustis bridge they are replacing it due to deficiencies found during an inspection of the bridge. Also can you please provide a specific date and time where a security check point at Ft. Eustis actually backed traffic up on to I-64 in the 8 years I have lived right out side of the base and driven through this area I have never experienced this problem from base traffic only during traffic crashes or a major event at Newport News park does traffic come to a stand still in the area. The only incident that I can recall that related to Ft Eustis and a traffic issue was last February when they had to lock down the base completely for a bomb threat that was left at the main gate at 3 in the afternoon. As for last night there were numerous crashes that occurred during rush hour over 5 miles from this location on the I-64 that caused a delay. If a major or fatal crash occurs and the interstate has to shut down then yes it cripples the other major roadways as there is no way they can keep up with the demand of traffic volume that I-64 was designed to handle on top of the normal traffic that comes through the city. Also if you have an issue with how the Military and US government decides to do security check points then you need to contact the Department of Defense or Homeland Security directly and see if they will even entertain your suggestions.

There are accidents because the artery can't handle the volume at peak hours. This IS an open issue.

I work on the base you know it all, so do us all a favor and stop trying to control everything on these boards just because you live in the neighborhood and have narcissistic personality disorder . Please stop closing issues which were not authored by you and please, pretty please GET SOME HELP!

Merideth since you work on the base I would recommend that you get ahold of the base commander or engineering department to see what they are doing to fix this major problem of the roadway and where the security checkpoint is located. I believe from what I understand there are currently two base commanders one for Ft. Eustis and Langley since you are now joint bases. The city is not able to control where they set up security checks. I think you would also have good contacts to the MPs or security to find out when they are doing random security increased checks and it is going to back up further. This will allow you to get to work earlier so that you are not in the backups. If the federal government wants Ft. Eustis wider then maybe they can influence federal to find extra funding for these projects. There is also a second access point to the base. This second access point doesn't seem to back up as bad as the primary one. If you drive down Warwick Blvd you should be able to see the signs, also Shellabarger Dr. They knew the one gate could not handle the traffic that is why they built a second one. If these options don't work maybe they could look at a third gate. If none of these are options have you considered finding another job that is not on the base.

It is what it is, leave this issue closed. you voted to keep emergency services and cut landscaping staff. live with it. you voted for it!

No Excuse. This is a major roadway and is vital to our area. this needs to be addressed. I fully support this and dont want it closed until it is repaired.

It's not my job to find alternatives, I'm just here to report a problem. In this case it happens to be several problems, the least of which is the disorganised security checks which seem to be under modification. That's good news.

Next is the I-64 central artery widening and the Ft. Eustis exit which is an obvious problem going forward. It is irrelevant who voted for what. This IS a problem. I will keep it open until it is addressed by someone of importance.

Please understand what you are asking for and what is planned. If you looked at http://www.vdot.virginia.gov/projects/hamptonroads/widening_i-64_on_the_peninsula.asp which is a VDOT site it has the plan for the project. As stated they already have 86.8 MILLION dollars for this project. They are still looking for the additional funds. I would recommend that if you want the project to be moved up in priority you make sure you contact your representatives up in Richmond that you want this project to happen. This will include them finding ways for funding this project.

Please also note some other projects that are happening in the State and what they cost. http://166.67.66.136/about/resources/Hampton_Roads_Legislative_Updates/Second_Quarter_2012/Newport_News.pdf

Also as noted below in the link are some other bridge projects. One of which is Ft Eustis bridge construction. http://articles.dailypress.com/2011-11-03/news/dp-nws-nn-bridges-20111102_1_bridge-work-lucas-creek-bridge-warwick-boulevard-bridge

And it is ALL taxpayers job to FUND these projects one way or another.

It sounds some of your concerns are in the plans. What else would you like to see.

Control issues?

Merideth since you are so interested in making sure this project happens on I-64 can you please let me know what was discussed at either one of the two informational meetings that were held. Or maybe just review the following web site to stay informed on the project. Also I remember seeing surveys go around I really hope you filled one out. http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/hamptonroads/i-64_peninsula_study.asp

Thanks for keeping all of us bloggers updated since you are more interested in this study then we are and gave feedback for the state

Pay no attention to that Merideth, you keep up the good fight and ignore the blog nazi with control issues. The city and vdot monitor this site and will respond as prioritys allow. If the site did not work, it would not be here. That person must be a city worker who was fired because this site is so much more efficient.

Clearly some of these people either don't drive 64 at from Jefferson to Ft Eustis Blvd and Ft Eustis Blvd itself at all or just not at the time when it backs up. Backups on I-64 Westbound occur anywhere between 7am-8am, possibly earlier or later, I've never been there much earlier than 7 nor later than 8 and also in the afternoon between 4-6pm. Traffic backs up from Exit 250 (Ft Eustis Blvd/Route 105) all the way Exit 255 (Jefferson Ave), sometimes further. This is not caused by accidents usually, nor lane closures, but rather by the bottleneck that is after Jefferson (having 4 lanes cut down to 2). I-64 in Hampton Roads was seemingly not designed to handle the volume of traffic it has these days and thus it backs up nearly every day. Eastbound is just as bad, sometimes worse. Traffic backups happen there nearly every day from 4pm-6pm. Most of the time there are no accidents or lane closures also. It is caused by people not knowing how to merge correctly and people driving under the speed limit (it's 65 MPH until you get to Jefferson Ave). With thru traffic driving slow and close to the same speed as merging traffic, no one can merge because they're both going the same speed. The base produces a lot of traffic and there's a few different ways to possibly fix it: close the base, outlaw base traffic from using I-64 (could be accomplished by putting up physical barriers between the base and Route 60 (Warwick Blvd), widen I-64 from Jefferson Ave to Busch Gardens (traffic today was backed up on Eastbound from Exit 250 to Exit 242 (Route 199), which is a 8 mile backup and worse than the typical HRBT backup of 5-6 miles, and no there were no accidents or lane closures [at least not in the vincinity of Ft Eustis to Jefferson]), build a feeder route from the base to I-64 (a good example of this concept can be seen at the Busch Gardens exit [at least the Westbound one, don't know if Eastbound has the same thing or not]), create a new interstate that runs parallel to I-64 and merges into it past Jefferson Ave where it widens back out to 4 lanes (think of 295 to 95 and 295 to 64), any of these would probably work. Now granted the state probably does not have the money for any of these, but this is not about fundraising, it's about letting people know that this is a major problem for the NN area and letting the people who have the power to do something about it actually know about it and hopefully bring it to the table to figure out a way to fix it. It's their job to fix traffic problems and come up with funding for it, not ours. There's a reason people keep voting against supposed funding sources for road projects. They don't trust the state to actually use that money on road projects, or worse they will use it on road projects that don't affect the area the voters are from (NOVA tends to get a lot of funding -- not saying it shouldn't, just saying it does). So I have no idea what the best solution would be, but it clearly is a problem and doesn't look to be getting better anytime soon.

Move somewhere else you buch of crybabys.