HRBT Expansion Project

We tip our (hard) hats to our friends across the Bay as Chessie The Tunnel Boring Machine completes her nearly mile-long journey to create a new tube at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel at its Thimble Shoal Channel. Take it from your friends @HRBT Expansion Project, the destination IS worth the journey. Best of luck as you and your construction partners finish the project and bring more travel opportunities to residents and visitors of Virginia's Eastern Shore! #VDOT #VDOTHR #Construction #Engineering #Milestones #ThimbleShoalChannel #followthegulls #ChesapeakeBayBridgeTunnel

The HRBT Expansion Project Team is excited to announce the February 2025 Welcome Center Open House dates. Sunday, February 2 - 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, February 17 - 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This month, get a glimpse of the 10-mile interstate expansion from the comforts of the project's newest facility at 9401 4th View Street in Norfolk. Dive into the marvelous world of engineering with the help of project staff, exhibits, and video footage of the corridor. From the center's offerings of staff-guided tours to solo listening at the center's podcast station, there's something for everyone. #VDOT #Construction #Engineering #Tunneling #MaryTheTBM #OpenHouse #hamptonroads #HRTAC #VINCI #FlatIron #Dragados

We salute all the men and women on our #HRBTExpansion project who, like other professionals who work outdoors, are getting the job done regardless of below-freezing temperatures. There's a job to do and they know the traveling public is counting on us to keep the project moving forward. Today is extra proof that we're doing just that! Thanks to all of our crews for showing up and powering through these brutal temps and winds. Thanks, also, to ALL first responders and others who must work outdoors on days like today. We appreciate you! #VDOT #VDOTHR Hampton Roads Connector Partners - HRCP #Vinci #Flatiron #Dragados #Tunneling #HRTAC #Construction #Engineering #MarytheTBM

Building new twin tunnels at the #HRBTExpansion project requires more than just boots on the ground. Look skyward, and as Communications Director Paula Miller explains, you'll spot one of a few specially trained Team members who RISE to the challenge. #VDOT #VDOTHR @hamptonroadsconnectorpartners #HRTAC #Vinci #Flatiron #Dragados #Tunneling #Cranes #Engineering #Construction #HNTB

Mine away Mary! Over the holidays, #MaryTheTBM was on a brief break for #HRBTExpansion shaft reconfiguration, including reassembly of slurry pipes that service the tunnel boring machine. Today, she resumed mining and is more than 770 feet into excavating the twin eastbound tunnel. If you're counting the concrete segments, it's rings #109, #110, and #111, and the day's still young! Pilot Jose Urbano and Programmer Antonio Fasciani are just two of the experts at the underground controls. They may have tunnel vision, but they say it requires Teamwork on all fronts. #VDOT, #VDOTHR, #Tunneling #Vinci #Flatiron #Dragados #Engineering #Construction #Herrenknecht #HRTAC

It's #nationalshowandtellatwork day. A perfect day to show off #MarytheTBM progress to #WTKR reporter/anchor Anthony Sabella and photog Max Barrett. Their story about the #HRBTExpansion project airs Friday. Check it out! How cool for them. They touched the top of the newest tunnel under construction and may never do it again once mining is complete. #VDOT #VDOTHR #hamptonroadsconnectorpartners #HRTAC #Vinci #Flatiron #Dragados #Tunneling #Engineering #Construction #MaryTheTBM #therealasabella #WTKR3

Mary The TBM Takes Manhattan! While it wasn't exactly a Broadway stage, the spotlight shined on the #HRBTExpansion project and its executives in the Big Apple today at the George A. Fox Conference. Trends and technology in tunneling piqued the interest of underground professionals as Expansion Project Dir. Ryan Banas and Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP) Executive Juan Migel Perez shared project progress and lessons learned with industry professionals. #MovingVaForward #VDOT #VDOTHR #VINCI #FLATIRON #DRAGADOS #Tunneling #Construction #MaryTheTBMTakesManhatten #HNTB

The HRBT Expansion Team invites you to the next Welcome Center Open House on Sunday, January 5 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Beginning this month, there will be two monthly Open House events so visitors from near and far can see a replica of Mary the TBM at work up close, take photos with the project's own LOVEwork sign, and learn more about how progress on a 10-mile interstate expansion is made. Can't make it this Sunday? Join project staff at the Welcome Center on Monday, January 20 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Virginia Department of Transportation Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP) VINCI Construction Flatiron Construction Dragados USA, Inc. #engineering #tunnelboring #construction #VDOTHR

It's the first Friday of 2025! Fun Fact Friday. When Mary The TBM is on the move and mining, her 46-foot cutterhead turns at a rate of 1.5 revolutions per minute! 12 electric motors power the machine, and the cutterhead, which excavates soils, is made up of 198 scrapers, 26 disc cutters and 11 center tools. The six hollow arms allow crews to access the cutterhead to replace worn excavation tools. #VDOT #VDOTHR Hampton Roads Connector Partners - HRCP #HRTAC #VINCI #FLATIRON #DRAGADOS #Tunneling #Construction #Engineering

We're expecting ... a twin tunnel and many more milestones on the HRBT Expansion Project in 2025! Happy New Year to all and cheers to another year of progress. Virginia Department of Transportation VINCI Construction Flatiron Construction Dragados USA, Inc. Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP) #VDOTHR #HRTAC #Tunneling #Engineering #Construction #MaryTheTBM