Virginia State Route 164

State Route 164
Western Freeway
SR 164 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by VDOT
Length:	7.27 mi[1] (11.70 km)
Existed:	by 1969[2] – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 17 in Suffolk
	I‑664 in Suffolk SR 135 in Suffolk
East end:	US 58 in Portsmouth
Location
Counties:	City of Suffolk, City of Portsmouth
Highway system
Virginia Routes Interstate U.S. Primary Secondary Byways History Turnpikes ← SR 163 SR 165 →

State Route 164 (SR 164) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as the Western Freeway, the state highway runs 7.27 miles (11.70 km) from U.S. Route 17 (US 17) in Suffolk east to US 58 in Portsmouth. SR 164 is a four- to six-lane freeway that connects the northern parts of Suffolk and Portsmouth—and Newport News and Hampton via Interstate 664 (I-664)—with Downtown Portsmouth and through the Midtown Tunnel to Downtown Norfolk.

Although SR 164 is a freeway, bicycles and pedestrians, but not mopeds, are allowed over the West Norfolk Bridge between West Norfolk Road and a pair of special ramps to Bayview Boulevard and Florida Avenue.^[3]

Route description

SR 164 begins as a pair of two-lane flyover ramps from southbound US 17 (Bridge Road) and to northbound US 17, in the direction of the James River Bridge, in the Belleville area of the independent city of Suffolk. Eastbound SR 164 receives another ramp from US 17, then the freeway meets I-664 (Hampton Roads Beltway) at a partial cloverleaf interchange that includes a flyover ramp from southbound I-664 to eastbound SR 164. Just east of the interchange, the eastbound carriageway crosses over the Commonwealth Railway, which settles into the media of SR 164. The state highway has a partial diamond interchange with SR 135 (College Drive) that allows access to the crossroad to and from the direction of Portsmouth, which the freeway enters immediately to the east of the interchange.^[1][4]

SR 164 and the railroad pass to the north of the community of Churchland, which is served via a diamond interchange with Towne Point Road and a partial cloverleaf interchange with Cedar Lane. East of Cedar Lane, a spur of the Commonwealth Railway splits to the north to serve the Port of Virginia's Virginia International Gateway terminals while the main line exits the median and begins to parallel the south side of the freeway. Truck access to the terminal is provided by a diamond interchange with Virginia International Gateway Boulevard. Within the West Norfolk neighborhood, SR 164 crosses the railroad and has a partial cloverleaf interchange with West Norfolk Road. The state highway crosses the Western Branch Elizabeth River on the West Norfolk Bridge, which passes through an S-curve as it crosses the channel of the river then parallels the shore of the residential Port Norfolk neighborhood. SR 164 expands to six lanes at the south end of the river crossing part of the bridge. East of the bridge, the freeway enters the actual Port Norfolk, curves south, and reaches its eastern terminus at the Pinners Point Interchange, a full Y interchange with US 58 (Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway). US 58 heads east into the Midtown Tunnel toward Norfolk and south toward Downtown Portsmouth. Port Norfolk is accessed via ramps with Railroad Avenue within the interchange.^[1][4]

History

In 1968, Congress passed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968, which expanded the Interstate Highway System by 1,500 miles (2,400 km). The Commonwealth Transportation Board resolved in its August 1968 meeting to apply for five new stretches of Interstate: the future I-195 and I-664 plus an expansion of the Berkley Bridge on I-264 were submitted to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and approved, while two other segments were instead built as SR 164 and SR 288.^[5] AASHTO has no record of Virginia ever making a formal application to add SR 164 to the Interstate system from 1968 through the 1978 opening of the Elizabeth River bridge.^[6] The still-unbuilt road was first referred to as SR 164 in 1971.^[7]

Exit list

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
City of Suffolk		0.00	0.00	US 17 north – James River Bridge
		0.84	1.35	I‑664 – Newport News, Hampton, Chesapeake	Exit 9 (I-664); no access from SR 164 east to I-664 south
		1.48	2.38	SR 135 (College Drive)	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
City of Portsmouth		2.38	3.83	Towne Point Road – Churchland
		3.73	6.00	Cedar Lane
		4.50	7.24	Virginia International Gateway Boulevard
		5.46	8.79	West Norfolk Road
				West Norfolk Bridge over Elizabeth River Western Branch
		7.27	11.70	US 58 – Tunnel, Norfolk, Downtown Portsmouth, Port Norfolk	Directional interchange
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

West Norfolk Bridge

West Norfolk Bridge
Photograph of West Norfolk Bridge. Traffic on the left is westbound towards Suffolk; traffic on the left is eastbound toward Downtown Portsmouth, Norfolk
Carries	SR 164
Official name	West Norfolk Bridge
Owner	VDOT
Maintained by	VDOT with incident management operations by Elizabeth River Crossings
ID number	0027133
Characteristics
Total length	3,253 ft (0.6161 mi)
Width	57.1 ft (17.4 m)
Height	36 ft (11 m)
Number of spans	1
History
Construction cost	$187.2M
Opened	2005
References
"Virginia Bridge Inventory". VDOT.

The West Norfolk Bridge is a fixed-span bridge that crosses the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River. This bridge is an integral part of the Pinners Point Interchange, carrying the Western Freeway over the river to meet U.S. 58 as it turns to the MLK Freeway.

Because of its proximity to the Elizabeth River Tunnels Project, VDOT has contracted out incident management services (snow clearing, car accidents, etc.) to Elizabeth River Crossings for the duration of their concession agreement. However, VDOT still is responsible for the maintenance and operations of the bridge.

References

1. Virginia Department of Transportation (2010). "2010 Traffic Data". Virginia Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
   • City of Suffolk (PDF)
   • City of Norfolk, City of Portsmouth, and City of Chesapeake (PDF)
2. State Highway Commission of Virginia (April 25, 1969). Minutes of Meeting (PDF) (Report). Natural Bridge, VA: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 79.
3. Google Street View photographs, September 2012
4. Google (November 17, 2011). "State Route 164" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
5. State Highway Commission of Virginia (August 16, 1968). Minutes of Meeting (PDF) (Report). Richmond, VA: Commonwealth of Virginia. pp. 41–42.
6. Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (n.d.). "USRN Application Database with Meeting Minutes and Application Results". American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
7. State Highway Commission of Virginia (June 17, 1971). Minutes of Meeting (PDF) (Report). Richmond, VA: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 11.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Virginia Highways Project: VA 164