Construction set to begin on new I-64/Denbigh Blvd interchange in Newport News, Va. to alleviate traffic congestion. Includes two phases, cost totaling $281.1 million, slated for completion by 2034. Project aims to manage current and future traffic demands, enhance regional connectivity.
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The interchange will add a new diamond interchange between those at the intersections of Fort Eustis Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue.
Construction will start late 2025 in southeastern Virginia on a new Interstate 64 interchange that state and local transportation officials hope will improve traffic flow in northern Newport News.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), is planning to build the I-64 Denbigh Boulevard Interchange Project, which will add a new diamond interchange between those at the intersections of Fort Eustis Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue.
The addition is expected to reduce afternoon traffic congestion in the northbound lanes of Jefferson Avenue (from Brick Kiln Boulevard to Denbigh Boulevard), on Bland Boulevard (from Jefferson to Warwick Boulevard) and in the northbound lanes of Warwick (from Bland to Denbigh), according to a spokesperson for the City of Newport News.
The effort will be completed in two phases, the Virginian-Pilot reported April 28, 2025.
The first is likely to finish in mid-2029 and involves constructing the west on- and off-ramps, a widening of I-64 and Denbigh Boulevard and improvements at Denbigh's intersections with Warwick Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue, according to VDOT.
The agency plans to develop the initial phase through a design-build procurement to streamline construction of I-64 West access.
VDOT is slated to begin Phase 2 in mid-2030, with a tentative completion set for the summer of 2034. The work will include installation of the east on- and off-ramps on I-64 and a widening of the Denbigh Boulevard bridge.
The first phase of the interchange project has a $93 million price tag, the transportation agency noted, while the second comes in at $188.1 million. The construction will not require any funding from the Newport News Capital Improvement Plan, a city spokesperson confirmed to the Virginia Beach newspaper.
In spring or early summer 2025, the RFPs for the initial phase of the highway project will go out to prospective contractors, VDOT noted.
"The primary reasons for initiating these projects include ongoing traffic congestion and safety concerns on I-64 and surrounding local roads," said an agency spokesperson. "Detailed analyses, including an Interchange Justification Report (IJR), were conducted and clearly indicated the need for improvements at Denbigh Boulevard to manage current and future traffic demands and enhance regional connectivity."
The roadway project is expected to support the recently announced relocation of a Costco from the northwest corner of the Jefferson Avenue/Oyster Point Road intersection in Newport News to the southeast corner of the intersection at Jefferson Avenue and Bland Boulevard.
The Virginian-Pilot reported that although the big-box retail store's move will likely add between 150-200 more vehicles during peak travel hours to an already-congested area, the Denbigh Boulevard Interchange Project is considered the "ultimate answer" to the issue. The explanation was outlined in an April 4, 2025, memo sent from Nathan Milaszewski, assistant district traffic engineer for VDOT's Hampton Roads District to Lisa Frankenberger, the chief traffic engineer for the City of Newport News.
The new interchange will "reduce the background demand for both Jefferson Avenue generally and [Exit 255B to northbound Jefferson Avenue] in particular," the memo read.
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