Best way to avoid traffic from Navy Base to VA Beach Oceanfront at 4:30 PM (Virginia Beach: travel)

[staley4ever]

I need to travel from Norfolk Navy Base to VA Beach Oceanfron around 4:00 to 4:30 PM. Would I be okay going 64 to 264, or should I take 170 to 60 and go around that way. I need to avoid bas traffic because my car will overheat after about 10 minutes in stop & go or standstill traffic.

[Shoobie]

I gotta ask, what car do you have? As far as traffic goes, goto google maps. What you want to do is enter your starting point, ending point, then move the little blue line it gives. You can slide it around and find new roots from point A to point B.

I go though the tunnels everyday and can't find away around that traffic, I hope you have better luck. BTW, why are you people afraid of them tunnels? Where I'm from, we have some tunnels that are 2 and 3 miles long.

[Pikantari]

I aint afraid of no stinkin tunnels! LOL

[BikesareBetter]

How about walk or bike?

[Erma]

do map quest and avoid the interstate...I do it all the time and make great timing. You can also get on the HOV road off the interstate and then when you come up to 64, get off at Rosemont and take Virginia Beach Blvd to the Ocean front, getting off at Laskin Road.

[The Village Idiot]

Let's see, you'll probably be taking 564 from the base...you could try 64 to 264, and you might be okay. Sometimes, however, there will be an accident or road work that will back up traffic unexpectedly. The DOT will sometimes send work crews out to do repairs on the median or shoulder, and they do not always provide much warning, so people end up having to change lanes at the last minute and before long traffic will be stopped and you'll be sitting in an overheated car on the side of the road. So, even though the 64-264 route is faster when traffic is moving, for your own peace of mind you may want to take the back roads.

There are an almost infinite number of routes you could take, so it just depends on how quickly you need to get from point A to point B. I love to take the HOV lane on 64, but I think at that time of day it's restricted so you'll need a second person in the car. You can pretty much take any exit off 264, go north a very short distance, and turn right onto Va. Beach Blvd. (Rt. 58) to go the rest of the way to the oceanfront. Well, it's probably not a good idea to take the Independence Blvd. exit, but Rosemont or Lynnhaven will get you from 264 to Va. Beach Blvd. pretty quickly.

If you're really desperate to avoid 64 and 264 altogether, you can try this route...As you're coming down 564 from the base, take the last exit just before you get on 64. You want to follow the signs for Granby St. At the end of the exit ramp, instead of turning onto Granby St., go straight through the light, go past the Farm Fresh Supermarket, and turn left at the next light onto Little Creek Rd. Follow Little Creek for about five miles and turn right onto Shore Dr. (Rt. 60). You can follow Rt. 60 all the way to the oceanfront. This route has tons of stoplights but at least the traffic is consistent and usually isn't too bad compared to the backups that sometimes happen on the freeways.

[Erma]

Nope...at that time of the day, it's open to all traffic. I travel from the base home to Rosemont.

[The Village Idiot]

Nope...at that time of the day, it's open to all traffic. I travel from the base home to Rosemont.

I guess my memory isn't so good after all... I was thinking they restricted it at around 3:00 pm, but I must have gotten that confused with the time that the HOV lane on 264 is restricted...or is it the time that they start allowing you to drive on the "shoulder" of 264? Oh, who the heck knows?!? Anyway, I'll gladly defer to Erma on this topic.

In that case, I think taking the HOV lane of 64 to 264 and exiting at Rosemont would most likely be okay. One thing to keep in mind is that the I-64 HOV lane in Norfolk is different from many other HOV lanes in that it is "reversible," meaning that they switch the direction of traffic on it at different times of the day. Fortunately, it's open for eastbound traffic in the afternoon. Also, it's completely cut off from the rest of I-64, with barriers on either side. Once you get on it, you're stuck on it until you get to 264. This shouldn't be a problem, since there are rarely accidents in the HOV lane (they almost always happen on the non-HOV lanes of I-64).

[Shoobie]

Originally Posted by cinderobyn

I aint afraid of no stinkin tunnels! LOL

We should start a club. Maybe make a group for people who are afriad. Underwater Tunnels Annon or something.

[Erma]

Not so much the underwater situation, just the ol' backup an make me wait 2 hours.