The exercise includes the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM), Virginia State Police and the Virginia National Guard, who will partner to conduct the emergency preparedness exercise.

The reversal of I-64 is part of the Commonwealth’s hurricane response plan. A reversal can be ordered by the governor to speed the evacuation of the Hampton Roads region in the event of a hurricane or other disaster.

The exercise involves closing I-64 east between I-295 near Richmond (Exit 200) to just east of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (Exit 272).

The agencies will rehearse all the steps needed to place westbound traffic in both the westbound and the eastbound lanes of I-64, but no actual westbound traffic will be routed onto the eastbound lanes during the exercise. However, some motorists may expect early morning traffic delays.

The exercise will test the lane-reversal plan and will allow the agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of communications tools, inter-agency procedures and the incident-command structure. It will provide experience for crews that will have to quickly close 36 interchanges and safely reverse the direction of travel on the interstate if an evacuation is ordered.

“We want to rehearse an interstate reversal before a real-world event makes it necessary,” said state coordinator of emergency management Michael Cline. “It is vital that VDOT, VDEM, the State Police and the National Guard prepare for emergencies, just as we encourage all Virginians to develop and practice their own emergency plans.”

Virginia has practiced this reversal only once, during a similar exercise in 2007. No actual interstate lane reversal has ever been ordered in the Commonwealth.

The exercise is planned for a time when the fewest motorists use I-64. Less than 1,000 vehicles normally use the busiest stretch of I-64 in the exercise area during the two early morning hours of the exercise. The agencies involved in the exercise have notified motorists, businesses and major transportation hubs in the corridor in order to minimize traffic delays.