RICHMOND - As the Atlantic hurricane season nears its kickoff June 1, preparing for hurricanes becomes a spring to-do task for everyone, including those who are responsible for protecting the safety of Virginians. The commonwealth will kickoff National Hurricane Awareness Week May 20-26 with a drill to test the Virginia Interstate 64 lane-reversal plan between 5:20 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Sunday, May 20.
The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM), Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), Virginia State Police and the Virginia National Guard are partnering to conduct a emergency preparedness exercise that will, for the first time, test state agencies' ability to reverse I-64 between Hampton Roads and Richmond.
"Sooner or later, we will face an event that calls for the mass evacuation of the Hampton Roads region," said Michael Cline, Virginia's State Coordinator of Emergency Management. "Just as it is important for citizens to prepare for that event, it is vital that VDOT, VDEM, the State Police and the National Guard rehearse the interstate reversal before a real-world event makes it necessary."
Exercise Details
The drill will include closing the interstate and hurricane gates throughout the corridor. Motorists will not be detoured from the westbound lanes onto the eastbound lanes are part of this exercise.
The exercise will begin with the closure of I-64 east at the Interstate 295 interchange (Exit 200) at 5:20 a.m. Motorists on I-64 East or on I-295 wishing to take I-64 East will be detoured on I-295 South to Route 60 or Route 5.
At 6 a.m., VDOT will close all 36 of the I-64 East entrance ramps between I-295 in Richmond and the east side of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (Exit 272). Motorists already traveling on I-64 east of I-295 and all westbound traffic will not be impacted by the exercise.
Motorists wishing to exit I-64 in the exercise area will be able to do so. Only the on-ramps to I-64 east will be closed between exits 200 and 272.
State Police, VDOT and National Guard personnel will confirm that all gates have been closed and personnel will "sweep" the lanes by car and by air between Exit 200 and Exit 205 to simulate how emergency responders will ensure that all eastbound traffic has been cleared from the lanes.
During a real-world event, westbound traffic would then be diverted to both sides of the interstate to speed the evacuation. For the exercise, westbound traffic will not actually be diverted onto the eastbound lanes.
The exercise will end at 6:30 a.m. and all lanes will be reopened. Motorists should expect minimal delays and should plan to use Route 60 or Route 5 as an alternate to avoid the exercise.
Emergency planners have developed phased evacuation plans in the event of a hurricane or other imminent threat to the Hampton Roads region.The governor can order the reversal of I-64 traffic to carry motorists westward in both the eastbound and westbound interstate lanes during a major storm, terrorist attack or other disaster.
Planning has been under way several months to develop an exercise to test the four agencies' lane-reversal plans and to evaluate the effectiveness of communications tools, inter-agency procedures and the incident command structure.
The exercise will test the agencies' ability to quickly close 36 on-ramps and ensure that traffic is safely cleared from the eastbound lanes. The exercise will also provide emergency planners with real-world experience that can assist in the improvement of emergency plans.
"We never want to adversely impact traffic when not 100 percent necessary," said David S. Ekern, VDOT commissioner. "However, it is imperative that all emergency responders have the training and the experience to conduct safe and efficient evacuations in a time of crisis. We have planned this exercise to impact the fewest motorists while ensuring that our crews are ready for a lane reversal if ever one was required."
VDOT's 2007 hurricane preparedness also includes the publication of the 2007 Virginia Hurricane Guide to provide residents of eastern Virginia with a comprehensive resource for hurricane evacuation information. The guide, available here or at VirginiaDOT.org/hurricanes, will be distributed through emergency management agencies, in VDOT offices and will be inserted in the May 20 home-delivery editions of The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press.
The Virginia National Guard is partnering in this exercise to train their personnel for the important mission of responding to local emergencies. "There has been a great deal of discussion recently about National Guard staffing and equipment levels and the guard's ability to respond to local contingencies," said Maj. Gen. Robert B. Newman Jr., the adjutant general of Virginia. "While the Virginia National Guard does have some equipment shortages and by mid-summer will have over 2,000 soldiers deployed in support of our federal mission, the Virginia Guard is still prepared and will respond to state contingencies such as an interstate lane reversal."
Detailed hurricane evacuation information,lane-reversal maps and other hurricane preparedness resources are available at VirginiaDOT.org/hurricanes.