Interstate 264 (Virginia)

Interstate 264 marker
Interstate 264
Map
I-264 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-64
Maintained by VDOT
Length25.07 mi[1][2][3] (40.35 km)
Existed1960–present
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
West end I-64 / I-664 in Chesapeake
Major intersections
East endParks Avenue / 21st Street in Virginia Beach
Location
CountryUnited States
StateVirginia
CountiesCity of Chesapeake, City of Portsmouth, City of Norfolk, City of Virginia Beach
Highway system
SR 263 SR 267

Interstate 264 (I-264) is an Interstate Highway in the US state of Virginia. It serves as the primary east–west highway through the South Hampton Roads region in southeastern Virginia. The route connects the central business districts of Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach and serves as the most direct link between those cities and the resort beaches along Virginia's Atlantic coast.

It runs from a junction with I-64 and I-664 (Hampton Roads Beltway) near Bower's Hill in Chesapeake east into Portsmouth and through the Downtown Tunnel under the Southern Branch Elizabeth River into Norfolk. At the I-464 interchange in the Berkley section of Norfolk, I-264 turns north, crossing the Eastern Branch Elizabeth River into Downtown Norfolk on the Berkley Bridge, one of a small number of drawbridges on the Interstate Highway System. I-264 then heads east through Norfolk, crossing I-64 at the east side of the Hampton Roads Beltway and into Virginia Beach, where it ends at Parks Avenue just short of the Atlantic Ocean. From this point, 21st and 22nd streets continue as a oneway pair with no route designation to U.S. Route 60 (US 60, Pacific Avenue).

The original section of I-264, designated in the late 1950s, lies between the two I-64 junctions. The piece east to the Virginia Beach waterfront was built as the Virginia Beach–Norfolk Expressway (a toll road until 1995) and carried State Route 44 (SR 44) until I-264 was extended over it in 1999.

When I-64 was augmented in the 1990s with reversible HOV lanes, I-264 toward Virginia Beach (then SR 44) was designated as the eastern terminus of the reversible lanes and one of the few direct exits from/entrances to the HOV lanes.

I-264 is a part of the National Highway System for its entire length.[4] A toll for use of the Downtown Tunnel began February 1, 2014. Tolls are collected electronically and (as of 2019) set at $2.20 during peak hours and $1.79 during offpeak hours for E-ZPass users.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Norfolk Traffic Data was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Princess Anne Traffic Data was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Table 2 - Auxiliary Routes - FHWA Route Log and Finder List - Interstate Highway System - National Highway System - Planning". Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Federal Highway Administration. December 31, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference National Highway System was invoked but never defined (see the help page).