Congestion Relief is Needed

The Downtown Tunnel / Midtown Tunnel / MLK Extension Project has long been a priority for citizens across Hampton Roads as The Project is central to addressing the region’s transportation needs.

In delivering the Project, ERC will bring a regional transportation solution to Hampton Roads that will deliver much needed congestion relief and helps 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. The Project moving forward will allow the region to begin to address its other transportation priorities.

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

• 3.2 million workdays lost annually,
• 0.8% of Hampton Roads Gross Regional Project (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}