Interstate 64 in Virginia

Interstate 64 (I-64) in the US state of Virginia runs east–west through the middle of the state from West Virginia to the Hampton Roads region, for a total of 299 miles (481 km). From the West Virginia state line to Chesapeake, it passes through the major cities of Lexington, Staunton, Charlottesville, the state capital of Richmond, Newport News, Hampton, and Norfolk. It is notable for crossing the mouth of the harbor of Hampton Roads on the Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel (HRBT), the first bridge–tunnel to incorporate artificial islands, concurrent with U.S. Route 60 (US 60). Also noteworthy is a section through Rockfish Gap, a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which was equipped with an innovative system of airport-style runway lighting embedded into the pavement to aid motorists during periods of poor visibility due to fog or other conditions.

I-64 enters Virginia as a four-lane divided highway, continuing its concurrency with US 60 through Covington into Lexington where the two routes split. From Lexington, I-64 then turns northward to Staunton, overlapping I-81 in the Shenandoah Valley. From Staunton, I-64 leaves I-81, passes through Waynesboro, crosses Rockfish Gap, and continues eastward, passing just to the south of Charlottesville, closely following the path of the historic colonial-era Three Notch'd Road, which had been established in the Colony of Virginia by the 1730s and was largely replaced in the 1930s by US 250. Just outside of Charlottesville in Zion Crossroads, I-64 received the state's first diverging diamond interchange at its interchange with US 15, which opened to traffic on February 21, 2014, and was completed on April 15, 2014.

After Charlottesville, I-64 then turns more east-southeasterly and heads toward Richmond, passing through Fluvanna, Goochland, and Louisa counties. After entering Henrico County and the Greater Richmond Region, I-64 interchanges and overlaps with I-95 on a stretch of highway which was a part of the former Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike, passing near Downtown Richmond and through the historic Black neighborhood of Jackson Ward. Once on the south side of Downtown Richmond, I-64 diverges from its concurrency with I-95 and continues southeasterly down the Virginia Peninsula through New Kent County and the Historic Triangle, into Newport News.

This portion of I-64 was set up by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) with a contraflow lane reversal system in place in the event of a mass evacuation of the Hampton Roads area region due to a hurricane or other catastrophic event. Gates are installed at the eastbound I-64 entrance and exit ramps from exit 200 (I-295) to exit 273 (US 60 east of the HRBT), and crossover roads are in place near the aforementioned exits.

About a mile (1.6 km) before the southern interchange with State Route 199 (SR 199), I-64 becomes a six-lane divided highway as it continues toward Hampton Roads. Shortly after entering its interchange with SR 173 (Denbigh Boulevard), I-64 enters the Hampton Roads metropolitan area and widens out to an eight-lane divided highway, continuing generally south-southeasterly into Hampton where it meets the northern terminus of I-664 beginning the Inner Loop of the Hampton Roads Beltway. I-64 curves north-northeast to pass north of Downtown Hampton and cross the Hampton River, turning back southward to reach the Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel, which it utilizes to cross the main shipping channel at the entrance to the harbor of Hampton Roads from the Chesapeake Bay. Once on the Southside, I-64 turns south through Norfolk, passing the eastern boundary of Naval Station Norfolk and Chambers Field and the spur route supplying it, I-564. It then becomes a six-lane divided highway with a two-lane reversible roadway in the middle, which is used for HOV traffic during morning and afternoon rush hours. It continues through Norfolk, curving multiple times and eventually ending up heading due south as it passes the interchange with another of its spur routes, I-264 on the northwest side of Virginia Beach.

After I-264, there are no more directional markers on I-64 from here to its "eastern" terminus because I-64 "east" will actually head west after its current southward course, and vice-versa. From I-264 to its "eastern" terminus, it is simply only signed as I-64 and either the Inner and Outer loop of the Hampton Roads Beltway.

Shortly after the I-264 interchange, I-64 leaves Virginia Beach for the city of Chesapeake. It soon comes to a complex interchange between another of its spur routes, I-464, along with US 17 and SR 168. I-64, now running westward, crosses the Southern Branch Elizabeth River using the High Rise Bridge. The road then curves northwesterly and ends at Bower's Hill, where it meets both the western terminus of I-264 and the southern terminus of I-664 near the northeastern corner of the Great Dismal Swamp. I-64's lanes continue northbound as I-664 to Newport News across the Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel (MMMBT), ending at I-64 in Hampton, completing the beltway.

In early studies and proposals of the Interregional Highway System (the predecessor title of the Eisenhower Interstate System), I-64 was to use the US 250 alignment west of Richmond. However, in the late 1950s, a number of interested citizens, including Virginia Senator Mosby Perrow Jr., proposed that I-64 be realigned to run along US 220, US 460, SR 307, and US 360 from Clifton Forge via Cloverdale (near Roanoke), Lynchburg, and Farmville to Richmond. This southern route was favored by Governor J. Lindsay Almond and most members of the State Highway Commission.