Bowers Hill Interchange Improvements Study

Overview

The Bowers Hill Interchange Improvements Study evaluates options to improve the Bowers Hill Interchange in the cities of Chesapeake, Suffolk and Portsmouth and covers the junction of I-664, I-64, I-264, U.S. Route 13, U.S. Route 58, U.S. Route 460 and VA Route 191 (Jolliff Road), as well as seven miles of I-664 to College Drive (exit 8A).

The study will help identify potential short-term and long-term operational improvements and study boundary limits will be informed by scoping and refined through the course of the study. While the study will result in the identification of a specific improvement and impact estimates, those impacts are only estimates and final impacts would not be known until the project advances beyond the current study phase to more detailed design. Using input gathered from the online survey and field data collected in 2020, VDOT developed the preliminary Purpose and Need to present to concurring, cooperating and participating agencies and had developed a range of concepts that potentially address those needs.

In February 2022, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued the Notice of Intent (NOI) for the Bowers Hill Interchange Improvements Study, formally initiating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process on Feb. 18. The NOI included information on the purpose and need, the alternatives retained for detailed study in the EIS and alternatives considered but not advanced, schedule details, and a summary of study information developed to date. Comments were collected through Mar. 21, 2022.

In April 2022, the Bowers Hill Interchange Improvements Study public hearings were held virtually April 26, and in-person April 27 at the Hampton Roads District office in Suffolk. The comment period remained open through May 7 and feedback shared via the online survey and in writing became part of the public record. 

In May 2022, VDOT presented the Recommended Preferred Alternative first to the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO) Transportation Technical Advisory Committee on May 4, and then to the HRTPO Policy Board on May 19, where HRTPO endorsed VDOT’s Recommended Preferred Alternative.

On July 28, 2023, the Notice of Availability of the Bowers Hill Interchange Improvements Study Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was published in the Federal Register. 

Two public hearings were offered in late August 2023, one virtual (Aug. 29) and one in-person (Aug. 30). The purpose of these meetings was to present findings from the DEIS, prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and to solicit comments. The DEIS presents analysis of the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed transportation improvements. Public comments were collected through September 11, 2023.

In compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act, Section 106 and 36 CFR Part 800, information concerning the potential effects of the proposed project on properties listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places was provided in the environmental documentation.

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Current Newsletter - August 2023

Draft Environmental Impact Statement

Click here to review the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, published July 28, 2023.

On July 28, 2023, the Notice of Availability of the Bowers Hill Interchange Improvements Study Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was published in the Federal Register. The DEIS, its appendices and supporting documentation were available for public review and comment until September 11, 2023.  

Bowers Hill DEIS appendices

• Appendix A: Coordination Plan for Agency and Public Involvement
• Appendix B: Bowers Hill Study Agency Coordination
• Appendix C: Alternatives Mapping – Alternative C
• Appendix C: Alternative D
• Appendix D - List of Technical Support Documentation
• Appendix E: Bowers Hill Study VDOT Recommended Preferred Alternative Public Hearing Comment Summary
• Appendix F: Alternative Impacts Mapping
• Appendix G: Preliminary VDOT and VDHR Bowers Hill Study Programmatic Agreement
• Appendix H: Bowers Hill Study Notice of Intent Comment Summary
• Appendix I: All Comments Received

Technical reports

• Air Quality:
  • Appendix A
  • Appendix B
  • Appendix C
• Alternatives Technical Report:
  • Appendix A
  • Appendix B
  • Appendices C-H
• Cultural Resources Assessment:
  • Volume I Archaeological and Architectural Data
  • Volume II Architectural Management Summary
  • Volume III Archaeological Management Summary
• Environmental Justice
• Hazardous Materials
• Indirect and Cumulative Effects
• Natural Resources:
  • Appendix A
  • Appendix B
  • Appendix C
  • Appendix D
  • Appendix E
  • Appendix F
  • Appendix G    
  • Appendix H
  • Appendix I
  • Appendix J
  • Appendix K
  • Appendix L
• Noise Analysis:
  
  • Appendix A-H
  • Appendix I
• Socioeconomic, Land Use and Right-of-Way
• Traffic and Transportation:
  • Appendix A-E
• Visual Assessment Technical Memorandum

Study history

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), initiated the environmental review process for the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate potential transportation improvements at the Bowers Hill interchange in 2018. Following issuance of the EA, the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO), in consultation with HRTAC, VDOT, and FHWA, expanded the Bowers Hill Interchange Improvements study area to include a larger study area into Suffolk, including approximately seven additional miles north along Interstate I-664 to College Drive (exit 8A).

Considerations also included how the study area would interact with Express Lanes that are planned for portions of I-64 east of the study area. In July 2020, residents in the expanded Bowers Hill study area received a letter from VDOT informing them field work was underway to assess wetlands, streams, threatened and endangered species, wildlife and habitat, historic properties, community facilities, and other resources. Receiving a letter did not mean the property will be impacted but that it is close enough to I-664 where information is needed. This documented data helped inform the future study, including the identification of impacts of the alternative concepts presented in Feb. 2021. Feedback was shared in a Citizen Comment Opportunity through March 25, 2021, regarding the concepts and the comments shared via the online survey and in writing became part of the public record. 

Enabled by funding from the Hampton Roads Transporation Accountability Commission.