I-64 / I-295 Interchange Modification Project Photos

I-64 / I-295 Interchange Modification Project Photos - February 2008

This article has 45 photos, with 19 photos by Roads to the Future, and 26 photos by VDOT.

The following 19 photos were taken on February 2, 10 and 24 by Roads to the Future. Click on the photo to get a large version of the photo. The large photos have sizes ranging from 145 to 248 kilobytes, with most of them being under 203 kilobytes. With a broadband or network Internet connection each photo will download within seconds, but with a dial-up Internet connection it will be somewhat slower.

Photos below taken on February 2, 2008
	I-64 westbound (toward Charlottesville), one half mile east of the VA-288 interchange, a third lane is being constructed on the right. The third right lane to the VA-288 interchange, begins ahead, and the current construction project ends. The third right lane will extend seamlessly between the I-295 and VA-288 interchanges. Notice the overhead sign for the exit to VA-288 southbound. Asphalt base material has been placed for the new lane and shoulder.
	I-64 westbound (toward Charlottesville), one mile east of the VA-288 interchange, a third lane is being constructed on the right. Asphalt base material has been placed for the new lane and shoulder.
	I-64 eastbound (toward Richmond), approaching the under construction 2-lane ramp from eastbound I-64 to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). Approaching the VA-271 Pouncey Tract Road overpass over I-64. The original 2-lane bridge is being replaced with a 4-lane bridge that is long enough to span the widened approaches on I-64 to I-295. Looking at the under construction southbound portion of the bridge. Notice the steel girders for the new bridge, that are stationed on the other side of the concrete barricade to the right of traffic, awaiting placement on the new bridge. This and the next 2 photos are in driving sequence.
	I-64 eastbound (toward Richmond), approaching the under construction 2-lane ramp from eastbound I-64 to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). Approaching the VA-271 Pouncey Tract Road overpass over I-64. The completed new northbound portion of the bridge is temporarily carrying 2-lane 2-way traffic.
	I-64 eastbound, passing the under construction 2-lane ramp from eastbound I-64 to eastbound I-295. The flyover bridge is the higher bridge, and the original I-295 bridges are at the lower bridge level. Notice the Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) retaining walls constructed on the earthen fill approach to the flyover bridge. The end of the retaining wall structure has the abutment (bridge terminal structure) where the bridge begins. The flyover bridge will be 1,765 feet long and 35 feet above I-64.
	Approaching the under construction flyover bridge. The westbound I-295 roadway is carrying 2-way traffic; this is a temporary arrangement instituted as part of this project. I-295 has a temporary roadway for the pre-existing interchange loop ramp movement from eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond) to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). The inner lane of the I-295 3-lane westbound roadway (toward Charlottesville) is being used as this temporary roadway, and there are temporary roadway connections between the pre-existing loop ramp and this roadway, and between this roadway and the permanent I-295 eastbound roadway. This temporary roadway was necessary so that a segment of eastbound I-295 could be vacated of traffic so that it could be reconstructed to include the downstream elevated approach from the flyover bridge. This and the next photo is in driving sequence (eastbound I-64 to eastbound I-295).
	Crossing the I-295 bridge over I-64, approaching the under construction flyover bridge. The steel girders for the bridge roadway deck have been placed on most of the spans of this bridge, and more will be placed in the near future. Photo #7
	This is the reverse view of the previous photo, from the ramp from I-295 westbound (toward Charlottesville) to I-64 eastbound (toward Richmond). The inner lane of the 3-lane I-295 westbound roadway is on the other side of the concrete barricade, as is being used for the I-295 temporary roadway for the interchange ramp movement from eastbound I-64 to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). The under construction eastbound flyover ramp is visible ahead, and the placement of steel girders for the bridge has been partially completed. Photo #8
	Steel beam placement has been partially completed for the 2-lane flyover bridge from eastbound I-64 to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). Looking across the loop ramp from westbound I-295 to eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond).
	Steel beam placement has been partially completed for the 2-lane flyover bridge from eastbound I-64 to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). Looking across the loop ramp from westbound I-295 to eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond). Notice the 'straddle bents' on the flyover bridge ... they are utilized when a bridge crosses over a roadway at a very high skew (angle of difference from the perpendicular), to where conventional piers would have to be placed in the middle of the roadway, so the cross-member extends well outside of the bridge footprint, so that the piers are outside of the roadway below.
	Steel beam placement has been partially completed for the 2-lane flyover bridge from eastbound I-64 to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). Looking across the loop ramp from westbound I-295 to eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond).
Photos below taken on February 10, 2008
	Crossing the I-295 bridge over I-64, approaching the under construction flyover bridge, on the temporary ramp movement from eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond) to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). Similar vantage point as photo #7 on February 2nd, notice that additional steel girders have been placed since then.
	View from the I-295 temporary roadway for the interchange ramp movement from eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond) to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). Ahead is the construction of the Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) retaining walls on the earthen fill approach from the flyover bridge for the new semi-directional ramp from eastbound I-64 to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). This is the "landing" for the flyover ramp on I-295. The end section of the flyover bridge will connect to the elevated approach, at the near end.
	Approaching the under construction flyover bridge, on the ramp movement from I-295 westbound (toward Charlottesville) to I-64 eastbound (toward Richmond). Similar vantage point as photo #8 on February 2nd, notice that additional steel girders have been placed since then.
	Steel beam placement has been partially completed for the 2-lane flyover bridge from eastbound I-64 to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). Looking across the loop ramp from westbound I-295 to eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond).
	I-64 westbound (toward Charlottesville), approaching the bridges to and from I-295. The under construction flyover bridge is the higher bridge, and the original I-295 bridges are at the lower bridge level.
Photos below taken on February 24, 2008
	Crossing the I-295 bridge over I-64, approaching the under construction flyover bridge, on the temporary ramp movement from eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond) to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). The under construction eastbound flyover ramp is visible ahead, and the placement of steel girders for the bridge has been partially completed.
	New VA-271 Pouncey Tract Road overpass over I-64. The original 2-lane bridge is being replaced with a 4-lane bridge that is long enough to span the widened approaches on I-64 to I-295. Looking at the under construction southbound portion of the bridge. The completed new northbound portion of the bridge is behind (to the right of) that span. The northbound 2-lane portion of the bridge, is temporarily carrying 2-lane 2-way traffic.
	New VA-271 Pouncey Tract Road overpass over I-64. The original 2-lane bridge is being replaced with a 4-lane bridge that is long enough to span the widened approaches on I-64 to I-295. Looking at the under construction southbound portion of the bridge. The steel girders for the bridge roadway deck have been placed on the section that spans the I-64 eastbound (toward Richmond) roadway, and steel girder placement for the rest of the bridge will be accomplished in the next few days. The completed new northbound portion of the bridge is behind (to the right of) that span.

The following 14 photos were taken on February 25 and 26, 2008 by the Virginia Department of Transportation, and are posted here with their permission. Roads to the Future utilized PhotoDeluxe Business Edition to sharpen and brighten and to align all of the photos. Click on the photo to get a large version of the photo. You probably will need to use Full Screen mode (the F11 key can be utilized to swap back and forth between Full Screen and Regular) to see the full size of the large photo without browser-induced image shrinkage. The large photos have sizes ranging from 154 to 367 kilobytes, with most of them being under 232 kilobytes. With a broadband or network Internet connection each photo will download within seconds, but with a dial-up Internet connection it will be somewhat slower.

These photos show the under construction 2-lane southbound portion of the new VA-271 Pouncey Tract Road overpass bridge over I-64. The completed new northbound portion of the bridge is temporarily carrying 2-lane 2-way traffic. The steel girders for the bridge roadway deck have been placed on the section that spans the I-64 eastbound (toward Richmond) roadway, and steel girder placement for the rest of the bridge over the I-64 westbound (toward Charlottesville) roadway, will be accomplished in the next few days. On the overnight depicted below, 3 steel girders were placed. These placements of steel bridge girders over a highway roadway, require the temporary closing of the roadway below, as it too dangerous for the traffic below, as there is some risk (albeit very small) that during the placement operation that a girder might get dropped. Therefore during the placement operation, the westbound roadway of I-64 was closed to public traffic between US-250 Exit 178 and VA-288 Exit 175, with the traffic detoured via US-250 and VA-288. That segment of US-250 is a 6-lane arterial, and that segment of VA-288 is a 6-lane freeway. Don't have the exact times, but given how much traffic uses I-64, it would be at the lowest traffic period possible, on a weekday, and typically closing at 8:00 pm and reopening at 6:00 am the next morning.

	North abutment and wingwalls under construction for the southbound portion of the new Pouncey Tract Road overpass over I-64. The abutment is the bridge terminal structure that forms the transition between the bridge and the roadway land approach, and this structure is comprised of reinforced concrete. In the background, to the left is the new northbound portion of the bridge, and in the rear is the section of the southbound portion of the bridge that has its steel girders recently placed upon it.
	North abutment and wingwalls under construction for the southbound portion of the new Pouncey Tract Road overpass over I-64. The flat surface where the worker is standing, is where the ends of the steel girders will be placed, notice the raised concrete pads with the large steel bolts that will secure the end of each girder.
	View from the new northbound portion of the bridge, looking at the under construction southbound portion of the bridge. Between the recently placed steel girders on the left, and the north abutment on the right, is the section that remains to have steel girders placed upon it.
	View from the north abutment of the southbound bridge, looking at the under construction portion of the bridge. These girders are continuous beam girders, meaning that the sections will be bolted together to make a structurally continuous beam. The "gap" ahead will be closed by the placement of the remaining girders. This is in late afternoon, and westbound I-64 has not yet been closed to traffic.
	The remaining 5 steel girders are on the ground next to the bridge project. The crane will raise and place the girders on the bridge.
	The westbound roadway of I-64 has been closed to traffic between US-250 Exit 178 and VA-288 Exit 175. This Variable Message Sign (VMS) directs traffic to exit onto US-250.
	The westbound roadway of I-64 has been closed to traffic between US-250 Exit 178 and VA-288 Exit 175. This Variable Message Sign (VMS) directs traffic to exit onto US-250. This and the previous photo are from the same vantage point. Both appear to have a time lapse of about 10 seconds.
	View from the new northbound portion of the bridge, looking at the placement operation for the first steel girder to be placed tonight. The I-64 westbound roadway below is closed to public traffic, and only the contractor's construction equipment will be allowed near the work site. A crane has lifted the steel girder and is moving it into its final position on the bridge.
	View from the new northbound portion of the bridge, looking at the placement operation for the first steel girder to be placed tonight. The crane is moving the steel girder into its final position on the bridge. The massive size of this girder is apparent, notice that it is taller than the men that are preparing to bolt this section of girder to the section of girder to the left. Given the type of clothing that they are wearing, the air temperature must be rather low.
	View from the new northbound portion of the bridge, looking at the placement operation for the first steel girder to be placed tonight. The steel girder has been placed on its final position on the bridge. The workers are fastening the dozens of bolts needed to join the two sections of girder together. These girders are continuous beam girders, meaning that the sections will be bolted together to make a structurally continuous beam.
	View from the north abutment of the southbound bridge, looking at the placement operation for the second steel girder to be placed tonight. A portion of the crane is visible, and the cables and shackles that are holding the girder.
	View from the north abutment of the southbound bridge, looking at the placement operation for the third steel girder to be placed tonight. A portion of the crane is visible, and the cables and shackles that are holding the girder. Dawn has arrived, and this will be the last steel girder to be placed tonight.
	View from the new northbound portion of the bridge, looking at the under construction southbound portion of the bridge. On the section of the bridge to the right, 3 girders were placed in this operation, and there are 2 that remain to be placed in the next couple days. The I-64 westbound roadway below has been reopened public traffic.
	View from the north abutment of the southbound bridge, underneath the 3 girders that were placed in this operation. The I-64 westbound roadway below has been reopened public traffic.

The following 12 aerial photos were taken on February 11, 2008 by the Virginia Department of Transportation, and are posted here with their permission. Roads to the Future utilized PhotoDeluxe Business Edition to sharpen and brighten and to align all of the photos. Click on the photo to get a large version of the photo. You probably will need to use Full Screen mode (the F11 key can be utilized to swap back and forth between Full Screen and Regular) to see the full size of the large photo without browser-induced image shrinkage. The large photos have sizes ranging from 339 to 463 kilobytes, with most of them being under 436 kilobytes. The photos marked "LARGE PHOTO" are much larger, with a very detailed zoom-in of the previous photo, and they have the file size listed next to the photo. With a broadband or network Internet connection each photo will download within seconds, but with a dial-up Internet connection it will be somewhat slower.

	I-64/I-295 interchange, looking south across the Short Pump area. I-64 runs from the left (toward Richmond) to the right (toward Charlottesville), and I-295 runs from the bottom to the top. The under construction curving bridge in the center of the photo is the new flyover bridge that is part of the new 2-lane ramp from eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond) to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). All of the bridge piers have been constructed, and most of the bridge's steel girders have been placed. Notice that the new bridge piers cross into the original I-295 eastbound roadway. I-295 has a temporary roadway for the pre-existing interchange loop ramp movement from eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond) to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). The inner lane of the I-295 3-lane westbound roadway (toward Charlottesville) is being used as this temporary roadway, and there are temporary roadway connections between the pre-existing loop ramp and this roadway, and between this roadway and the permanent I-295 eastbound roadway. This temporary roadway was necessary so that a segment of eastbound I-295 could be vacated of traffic so that it could be reconstructed to include the downstream elevated approach from the flyover bridge.
	I-64/I-295 interchange, looking south across the Short Pump area. I-64 runs from the left (toward Richmond) to the right (toward Charlottesville), and I-295 runs from the bottom to the top. The I-295 roadways end a couple hundred feet beyond I-64, with the pair of 3-lane roadways ending at the treeline. The original 1968 plan was to extend the I-295 freeway seamlessly southward as the VA-288 freeway, and that is how this highway segment was constructed in 1981, with the provision for a future extension; and the western alignment of VA-288 that was approved in 1988 (and completed in 2005) replaced that plan.
	I-64/I-295 interchange, looking east across the Short Pump area. I-64 runs from the lower right (toward Charlottesville) to the upper center (toward Richmond). I-295 runs to the center left. The under construction curving bridge in the center of the photo is the new flyover bridge that is part of the new 2-lane ramp from eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond) to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). Notice the 'straddle bents' on the flyover bridge ... they are utilized when a bridge crosses over a roadway at a very high skew (angle of difference from the perpendicular), to where conventional piers would have to be placed in the middle of the roadway, so the cross-member extends well outside of the bridge footprint, so that the piers are outside of the roadway below. That high skew could have been avoided if not for the constraint of the Lowe's home improvement store that is visible in the lower right of the photo, as the ramp could have curved outward from I-64 and then curved back across I-64 at a much lower skew. VDOT did not own the right-of-way where the store was built in the 1990s, and the county allowed Lowe's to put the store there.
	I-64/I-295 interchange, similar vantage point as previous photo, more telephoto. The new flyover bridge will be 1,765 feet long and 35 feet above I-64, and this ramp will be a high-speed (design speed 101 kph or 63 mph) 2-lane freeway-standard movement. The complimentary ramp movement, from westbound I-295 to westbound I-64 (toward Charlottesville), originally was one lane wide, and is being relocated in two places and widened to 2 lanes (design speed 110 kph or 68 mph).
	I-64/I-295 interchange, looking east across the Short Pump area. I-64 runs from the bottom (toward Charlottesville) to the top (toward Richmond), and I-295 runs to the center left. VA-271 Pouncey Tract Road runs across the lower part of the photo, notice that its new 2-lane northbound section of the overpass bridge over I-64 has been completed, and that is temporarily carrying 2-lane 2-way traffic. I-64 is being widened between I-295 and VA-288, adding a third lane each way on the outside of each pre-existing two-lane roadway.
	I-64/I-295 interchange, looking east across the Short Pump area. I-64 runs from the lower left (toward Charlottesville) to the upper right (toward Richmond), and I-295 runs to the upper left.
	This is a zoom-in excerpt (size 1,007 kilobytes) from the previous photo. LARGE PHOTO The under construction curving bridge in the center of the photo is the new flyover bridge that is part of the new 2-lane ramp from eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond) to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). The complimentary ramp movement, from westbound I-295 to westbound I-64 (toward Charlottesville), originally was one lane wide, and is being relocated in two places and widened to 2 lanes (design speed 110 kph or 68 mph). Notice just right of the housing development, in the lower left corner of the photo, the darker section of new asphalt that is one of the sections where a curve is being lessened to provide a higher speed alignment.
	I-64/I-295 interchange, looking north across the Short Pump area. I-64 runs from the left (toward Charlottesville) to the right (toward Richmond), and I-295 runs to the upper center. The under construction curving bridge in the center of the photo is the new flyover bridge that is part of the new 2-lane ramp from eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond) to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). The two smaller bridges are the original I-295 bridges over I-64.
	I-64/I-295 interchange, looking north across the Short Pump area. I-64 runs from the left (toward Charlottesville) to the right (toward Richmond), and I-295 runs to the upper center. The I-295 roadways end a couple hundred feet beyond I-64, with the pair of 3-lane roadways ending at the treeline. The original 1968 plan was to extend the I-295 freeway seamlessly southward as the VA-288 freeway, and that is how this highway segment was constructed in 1981, with the provision for a future extension; and the western alignment of VA-288 that was approved in 1988 (and completed in 2005) replaced that plan.
	I-64/I-295 interchange, similar vantage point as previous photo, wider angle lens. If you look carefully along the section of I-295, you can see both temporary roadway connections for the pre-existing interchange loop ramp movement from eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond) to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). I-295 has a temporary roadway for the pre-existing interchange loop ramp movement from eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond) to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). The inner lane of the I-295 3-lane westbound roadway (toward Charlottesville) is being used as this temporary roadway, and there are temporary roadway connections between the pre-existing loop ramp and this roadway, and between this roadway and the permanent I-295 eastbound roadway. This temporary roadway was necessary so that a segment of eastbound I-295 could be vacated of traffic so that it could be reconstructed to include the downstream elevated approach from the flyover bridge. VA-271 Pouncey Tract Road runs along the left side of the photo, notice that its new 2-lane northbound section of the overpass bridge over I-64 has been completed, and that is temporarily carrying 2-lane 2-way traffic.
	I-64/I-295 interchange, looking north across the Short Pump area. I-64 runs from the left (toward Charlottesville) to the lower right (toward Richmond), and I-295 runs to the upper right. The under construction curving bridge in the center of the photo is the new flyover bridge that is part of the new 2-lane ramp from eastbound I-64 (toward Richmond) to eastbound I-295 (toward Washington and Norfolk). The two smaller bridges are the original I-295 bridges over I-64.
	I-64/I-295 interchange, looking west across the Short Pump area. I-64 runs from the bottom (toward Richmond) to the top (toward Charlottesville), and I-295 runs to the center right.
	This is a zoom-in excerpt (size 1,103 kilobytes) from the previous photo. LARGE PHOTO
	I-64/I-295 interchange, looking southwest across the Short Pump area. I-64 runs from the lower left (toward Richmond) to the upper right (toward Charlottesville), and I-295 runs to the lower right.
	This is a zoom-in excerpt (size 971 kilobytes) from the previous photo. LARGE PHOTO I-64/I-295 interchange, the under construction curving bridge is the new flyover bridge, the two smaller bridges to the upper left are the original I-295 bridges over I-64. All of the flyover bridge's piers have been constructed, and most of the bridge's steel girders have been placed. The new flyover bridge will be 1,765 feet long and 35 feet above I-64, and this ramp will be a high-speed (design speed 101 kph or 63 mph) 2-lane freeway-standard movement. Notice that the new bridge piers cross into the original I-295 eastbound roadway. I-295 has a temporary roadway so that a segment of eastbound I-295 could be vacated of traffic so that it could be reconstructed to include the downstream elevated approach from the flyover bridge. The complimentary ramp movement, from westbound I-295 to westbound I-64 (toward Charlottesville), originally was one lane wide, and is being relocated in two places and widened to 2 lanes (design speed 110 kph or 68 mph).

Lead article - I-64/I-295 Interchange Modification Project

By Scott M. Kozel, Roads to the Future

(Created 2-4-2009,updated 2-13-2009)