A disconnected pump in the Downtown Tunnel near South Hampton Roads, Va., made the Aug. 12 flooding worse than it would have been. Even if the drainage pump had been working, the tunnel still would have flooded would have had to be closed, but the closure would have been shorter, according to a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).
The submersible drainage pump was one of two replacement pumps that were being installed in the center of the eastbound lanes of the Downtown Tunnel. Before the second pump was installed, a heavy storm dropped up to 6 in. of rain on the area. The rainwater and debris flowed down the middle of the tunnel overwhelmed the drainage capacity of the one center pump in operation. The tunnel has a total of nine drainage pumps.
The Downtown Tunnel on I-264 crosses the southern branch of the Elizabeth River in the South Hampton Roads area. It links the city of Portsmouth with the city of Norfolk.
The center pumps were being replaced in response to concerns about proper handling of flooding problems in the tunnel, according to a report in the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot.
In response to flooding in a nearby tunnel, VDOT had already assembled a tunnel review panel before the Aug. 12 Downtown Tunnel flood to review the events that led to a July 2 closure of the I-64 West Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) due to the rupture of a 52-year-old cast-iron fire main. The 11-member panel will review operations and procedures for good management of the tunnel.
The panel will review and provide recommendations to VDOT Commissioner David S. Ekern regarding existing policies and procedures relating to tunnel operations, technology and management, according to a VDOT statement.
A fire main break 2,800 feet inside the western end of the tunnel on July 2 caused flooding that eventually led to more than eight hours of traffic delays in the area.
The water pipe burst while maintenance crews were responding to several tunnel emergencies caused by a strong storm that struck the area around 9 p.m. July 1.
Tunnel maintenance teams were dispatched to address downed power lines that closed the Rte. 17 James River Bridge, power outages at the I-664 Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel and at the HRBT, and water pumps running unexpectedly at the HRBT.
VDOT closed the road for more than eight hours July 2 while crews addressed the flooding and began pumping water from the roadway.
Over the next week, overnight lane closures were used to pump out the water beneath the roadway and to diagnose the cause of the water flow.
At no time was public safety threatened by the rising water underground, said VDOT. The tunnel itself was never breached or in danger due to the fire main break. Investigations determined that the water main break was coincidental to the weather events of that evening, but was not caused by the storm.
