CHESAPEAKE, Va - It's a traffic nightmare for drivers.
The I-64/I-464 interchange has been known to cause headaches for people trying to get to their destinations on time. Thousands of drivers cross the interchange every day, often encountering standstill traffic.
Now the Virginia Department of Transportation is taking action. VDOT's new project will help ease congestion.
Meanwhile, drivers like Melvin Berry, of Chesapeake, say they're frustrated.
"It is horrible," Berry said. You have to constantly wait and slow down. I sit in traffic for about 20 minutes," Melvin Berry.
For other drivers, like Edwin Rodriquez, of Chesapeake, heavy traffic makes their commute much longer.
"I have an office off of Summit Point which is 5 minutes away and it took me about 35 minutes to get home just now. I sit in traffic for 35 to 40 minutes sometime," he said.
In the $181 million project, VDOT says crews will widen I-64 and add another two lanes at the on-ramp to I-464, build a new flyover ramp heading south onto the Chesapeake Expressway and reconfigure the ramp to I-464 North.
VDOT said the project will prevent accidents.
"What we have noticed in the interchange is we’re seeing sideswipe crashes. That’s indicative of people who are merging," said Jordan-Ashley Walker, a VDOT representative.
Walker said the flyover ramp will help alleviate side crashes.
Michael Sarros, the president of the North Battlefield Civic League says it’s been a headache merging with traffic.
"We merge from the exit lane onto a flowing lane of traffic. And immediately have to exit off. That merge has been a problem," Sarros said.
The project is currently in the design phase. VDOT says the project will be completed in 2027.
