TCEP 163: An Exclusive Look Into the Largest Construction Project in Virginia’s History The Civil Engineering Podcast

In this episode, I talk to Douglas Frost, P.E., a Senior Vice President at Dewberry. Douglas currently serves as the Quality Assurance Manager for the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion, and in this episode I talk to him about this project, which is the largest construction project in Virginia’s history. He also talks about Dewberry’s involvement in the project and discusses some interesting aspects around the project.  He even offers an amazing piece of career advice that was given to him by Mr. Sidney Dewberry!

Engineering Quotes:







Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Douglas:





What is the goal of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion, and what do they hope to achieve by this project?

How does someone get involved in such large projects, like the largest construction project in Virginia’s history?

What is Dewberry's expertise in the transportation/infrastructure space, specifically on QAQC for transportation projects?

Which technology and equipment or new/special procedures/processes are being used during this project?

What is Dewberry's role in this project?

Has the COVID-19 pandemic been helpful or hurtful to the project?

What are some of the safety risks of this project?

When working with unique machines and technology, like on this project, do you and your team need to be educated on them?

Do you have any advice for civil engineers out there who are planning to get involved with large projects like this one?



Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About Working on Large Construction Projects:



The purpose of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion project is to relieve major transportation congestion problems. This project is also aimed at improving safety for the traveling public by constructing the roadways to be sensitive to the needs of the roadway users and vehicles.

Getting involved in the largest construction project in Virginia’s history is an exciting experience. You get to work on unique projects that bring in cutting-edge technology that has hardly been used before. You can get to see every aspect of the project being rolled out, which is a great opportunity to learn unique methods and technologies.

Dewberry has been in the design and construction inspection business for more than 50 years. They have worked on multiple large transportation design projects in the DC Metro area and throughout the East Coast. Some of these projects are the Dulles Metro, Montgomery County interconnector highway, but the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion project is by far the largest construction project they have worked on. They are also currently working on the expansion of the I64, where they are doing the quality control under a local contractor. Because of Dewberry’s strength in transportation design, they get to design the projects and then watch, and inspect, their construction. This ensures that the designer’s intent is what is being constructed.

The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion project has an enormous budget of close to $4 billion, and should take approximately five years to complete. The tunnel boring machine itself costs $110 million and is being constructed in Germany. It is a design-build project, so the designers are designing as fast as the contractor wants to construct it.

This is only the fourth time in the USA that they have employed a tunnel boring concept to drill the tunnel. This boring machine has a 46-foot diameter, which makes it stand almost as tall as a four-story building, and the entire assembly of the boring machine is the length of a football field. It consists of many different parts, such as numerous hydraulics and soil screw jacks. It will take approximately a year for this boring machine to bore the tunnel from the North Island to the South Island.