It’s a dangerous mix: Cold temperatures, with lots of rain, all on top of decades-old concrete roads.
It ends in potholes that drivers just can’t get away from.
VDOT spent millions before the winter months on massive concrete replacement projects all over Hampton Roads, trying to fix pothole covered highways before the warm temperatures disappeared.
One stretch of road they couldn’t get to was Eastbound I-264 in Norfolk, heading towards Virginia Beach.
NewsChannel 3 found out it all came down to money.
“We are talking about millions of dollars, it’s not a simple pothole fix,” said Brooke Grow with VDOT.
The Norfolk I-264 concrete replacement project began in 2011, but when crews started work on the westbound lanes, they realized the potholes were worse than first thought.
“When we write up a contract, it’s what we estimate could be the possible repairs. There is a time delay between when the contract is written, awarded and then carried out,” said Grow.
VDOT’s original cost estimates didn’t come close to what was needed to fix both sides of the road.
So they decided to only fix westbound - leaving eastbound untouched, except for the right lane.
“That’s the best we can do right now, it’s just one of those roadway hazards we are dealing with across the region,” said Grow.
For now, the rest of the I-264 project has been pushed into the summer - leaving drivers in the lurch through this winter season.
