NEW KENT — A temporary traffic signal is soon going up on Route 33 and an interstate on-ramp will close as part of the Interstate 64 widening project.
The signal will be installed at the I-64 interchange with Route 33 (New Kent Highway) in September, the Virginia Department of Transportation announced last week. At the same time, the westbound loop ramp to I-64 from Route 33 north will be closed. The closure will be in place until early 2027.
The measure is being done as the I-64 Gap Segment Widening project continues. The latest segment of the project, which began in November, will widen about 10 miles of interstate from two to three lanes in each direction from mile marker 205, just west of the Bottoms Bridge exit, to mile marker 216, just east of the New Kent Courthouse/Providence Forge exit in New Kent County.
The project is the first of three segments that will widen I-64 from four to six lanes from mile marker 204.9 in New Kent County to mile marker 233.3 in James City County. When the $756 million project is completed, there will be no two-lane sections of interstate between Richmond and Hampton Roads.
With the ramp to I-64 West closed, motorists will make a left turn at the temporary signal from Route 33 north to enter the interstate. The adjustment is intended to eliminate a short acceleration lane and provide a safer work zone, according to VDOT.
The work is the latest in a flurry of activity along I-64 in New Kent. Within the 10.7-mile stretch of interstate being widened is Exit 211, off of which an eventual Buc-ee’s and an Autozone distribution center will be located. New Kent County recently requested about $44 million from VDOT for expanding the interchange at the exit.
The widening project has slowed plans for Buc-ee’s, which has not yet broken ground for the mega convenience store/gas station but still plans to open in 2027.
While a new interchange at the intersection is unlikely to be completed until 2030, an interim configuration proposed by Buc-ee’s should be sufficient, the county planning director has said.
The highway expansion project, meanwhile, is expected to be completed by summer 2027.
For more information on the widening project, visit virginiadot.org/projects/richmond/i-64-gap-segment-a-widening.asp or call VDOT’s customer service center at 800-FOR-ROAD (800-367-7623).
Kim O’Brien Root, kimberly.root@virginiamedia.com
