The HRBT Eastbound Closes Friday Night. Plan Like It.

Friday at 9pm, the eastbound Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel closes — fully, both lanes, no sneaking through — and it stays closed until Monday at 5am. VDOT is repaving, the westbound side just reopened early after its own closure, and now it's the eastbound's turn under the knife.

This is the single most actionable thing in your week. If you cross the water toward Norfolk on a normal weekend, you need a new plan: the signed detour runs via the I-664 Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, and depending on where you're headed, the James River Bridge or the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry can save you.

What to know

• When: Friday, Oct 16 at 9pm through Monday, Oct 19 at 5am.
• What's open: Westbound HRBT toward Hampton stays open the whole time.
• Detour: I-664 MMMBT is the signed primary alternate. Allow serious extra time.
• Don't trust the apps: VDOT says Google Maps, Apple Maps and Waze may not reflect the closure. Check 511Virginia before you roll.

One more thing: there's a second eastbound closure weekend on the calendar — Oct 30 through Nov 2 — if the contractor needs it to finish. And backup weekends in November exist too. The paving is weather-dependent, so watch VDOT's channels if the forecast turns.

The take

Every few years the region relearns the same lesson: there are only so many ways across the water, and every one of them is a tunnel with opinions. Friday night, the HRBT eastbound has the loudest opinion of all. Leave early, take the MMMBT, and be kind to the flaggers — they're the only people working harder than your GPS.