Project Overview > Congestion Relief

The Downtown Tunnel / Midtown Tunnel / MLK Extension Project has been under consideration by VDOT and the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization for many years. The Project is central to addressing the region’s transportation needs.

In delivering the Project, ERC will bring a region wide transportation solution to Hampton Roads that will deliver much needed congestion relief in addition to helping address other needs and bring other benefits. This is critical as:

• Hampton Roads experiences some of the worst traffic congestion in Virginia,
• Congestion impacts the every day lives and activities of individuals, communities and the regional economy.

Currently, the annual cost of congestion to the Hampton Roads region results in:

• 3.2 million workdays lost annually,
• 0.8% of Hampton Roads GRP,
• 3 workdays lost per driver per year,
• 17 million gallons of fuel wasted in congestion annually.

^{Sources:
Workdays lost from HRMPO Hampton Roads Regional Benchmarking Study, December 2008
GRP from Old Dominion University Economic Forecasting Project
Fuel wasted from HRMPO Hampton Roads Congestion Management Process Report, March 2009}