HRBT Tunnel Talk

Mary, The Tunnel Boring Machine arrived with fanfare, performed flawlessly, and is preparing to head home to Germany. Mary's successful mission is a 2025 crowning achievement for the HRBT Expansion Project. In today's installment of HRBT Tunnel Talk, project personnel revisit her milestones in delivering twin bored tunnels for the Virginia Department of Transportation.

There's a new bridge in town! November ushered in the opening of the South Trestle superstructure spanning between the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and the Norfolk shoreline. To learn more about the new mega trestle, click on the latest HRBT Tunnel Talk podcast here:

Ron Brown keeps an eye on the HRBT Expansion Project in Virginia each month through the lens of one of his three cameras. Tune in to HRBT Tunnel Talk to learn more about how he brings the project into focus for project personnel and the public.

The HRBT Welcome Center is rolling out the welcome mat to school-age children attending summer camps across Hampton Roads. Students are enjoying STEM and project-related learning from HRBT Expansion staff.

Sunshine, surf and favorite eating spots bring more than just tourists to Hampton Roads from April through September. That's when nesting, state-threatened and migratory birds are active in and around the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. For five years, bird monitors have been on duty to make sure the birds and the commonwealth's largest construction project can peacefully co-exist. Learn more about t...

Sean Johnson has a keen eye out for movement and unforeseen changes at the HRBT Expansion Project. In this installment of HRBT Tunnel Talk, hear Sean explain how he relies on "invisible" measurements to help detect changes in and around the construction environment.

She recently got a BIG BOOST to help her complete a new twin tunnel. Listen to find out where Mary is Now.

National Engineers Week in February celebrates the amazing accomplishments of talented men and women who improve the quality of our lives. The HRBT Expansion Project that includes many talented engineers. In this edition of HRBT Tunnel Talk, we meet four individuals transforming transportation in Virginia.

Barges, tugs, boats and bridges. The HRBT Expansion Project team coordinates it all. And the Team brings an impressive portfolio of experience to the project, including work in New York City, post 9-11. Learn more about managing the maritime works of the expansion project in the latest installment of HRBT Tunnel Talk.

A new bridge-tunnel project like the HRBT Expansion starts with environmental permitting. And for this project, there are more than 22 permits that require various levels of approval and constant monitoring. That responsibility for VDOT falls with Larissa Ambrose, the project's environmental manager. In this edition of HRBT Tunnel Talk, we learn from Larissa about the many challenges of her job.

The HRBT Expansion Project is rolling out the welcome mat to the public. The project has an official Welcome Center which will soon be open for STEM learning, community engagement and meetings, tunnel history and more! Tune into HRBT Tunnel Talk for details on what you can expect to find at the HRBT Welcome Center.

HRBT Expansion Project Communications Director Paula Miller is joined by Project Director Ryan Banas, VDOT District Engineer Chris Hall, and HRTAC Executive Director Kevin Page on this episode that provides an overview of the Hampton Roads Express Lanes (HREL) network, a continuous 45-mile network of Express Lanes on I-64, extending from west of Denbigh Boulevard in Newport News to the I-264/I-664...

HRBT Expansion Project Communications Director Paula Miller is joined by Project Director Ryan Banas for an update on the project, along with archeological experts David Lewes, Co-Director of William and Mary's Center for Archeological Research, Adam Pritchard, Virginia Museum of Natural History's Assistant Curator of Paleontology, and Will Moore, Virginia Department of Transportation's Lead Arche...

Project Director Ryan Banas joins Communications Manager Paula Miller to share the milestones achieved on the project this spring. VDOT Construction Engineer Lion Nitschke discusses tunneling progress for Virginia's first bored roadway tunnel and the process of turning the TBM around to start the second tunnel.

To celebrate International Day for Women in Maritime, the latest episode of HRBT Tunnel Talk features two project engineers, Linh Do and Sophia O'Brien, to talk about island expansion and bridge rehabilitation, while Project Director Ryan Banas provides an update on the project.

HRBT Tunnel Talk Host Brooke Grow is joined by Project Director Ryan Banas who provides an update on the progress across the project. Podcast guest, HRCP Project Manager Louis Brais provides the 411 on the progress of Mary, the Tunnel Boring Machine, under the channel as she works to construct VDOT's first bored tunnel for the HRBT Expansion Project. Who knew that boring could be so exciting?

HRBT Expansion Project Communications Manager, Brooke Grow, provides an update on the construction progress. Special guests include VDOT District Senior Communications Specialist, Nina Ullrich, and City of Hampton Communications Strategist, Robin McCormick, to discuss the collaboration needed to coordinate multiple construction projects in Hampton.

HRBT Tunnel Talk Host Brooke Grow is joined by new Project Director Ryan Banas who provides an update on the project. Then Brooke explores the environmental aspects (fish and turtles and birds, oh my!) of the project with guests Larissa Ambrose, VDOT Environmental Manager, and Becky Gwynn, Executive Deputy Director of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.

Learn more about the ins and outs of Katherine the Slurry Treatment Plant (STP). HRBT Tunnel Talk Host Brooke Grow is joined by HRCP's Ancillary Equipment Manager Javier Fernandez, as well as TBM and STP Manager George Mizzi. They'll discuss how Katherine interacts with Mary the TBM to excavate and create the new tunnels.

Learn more about Katherine the Slurry Treatment Plant (STP), the counterpart to Mary the TBM in the tunnel boring process. HRBT Tunnel Talk Host Brooke Grow is joined by HRCP's Ancillary Equipment Manager Javier Fernandez, as well as TBM and STP Manager George Mizzi. They'll describe the STP and provide an overview of how Katherine works.

Ever wonder what goes on in the mind of a child? Now, you can hear it firsthand. Communications Manager Brooke Grow and Staff Engineer Philip Casteen answer a myriad of colorful and creative questions that kids have about the HRBT Expansion Project.

With a price tag of $3.9 billion, the HRBT Expansion Project was a huge undertaking made possible through regional cooperation. Catch up on project progress with Project Director Jim Utterback and hear about regional transportation funding from the Honorable Mayor Donnie Tuck of Hampton, and chair of the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission.

In this episode, Project Director Jim Utterback shares an update on the project and HRCP's Carlos Ramo provides insight into what goes into reassembling Mary, the Tunnel Boring Machine.

What does an Olympian have to do with the HRBT Expansion Project? Find out on this episode. Project Director Jim Utterback provides a project update, while VDOT's Bradley Weidenhammer and HRCP's Brian Ballard share planned construction activities, lane closures and tips for traveling through the project corridor. Plus, find out how you can take part in future podcasts!

In this episode, meet Brooke Grow, the new host of this boring podcast, get an update from Project Director Jim Utterback, and learn about how the new tunnel is currently being constructed from Hampton Roads Connector Partners' Aurelien Gil.