Mary, the Tunnel Boring Machine, broke through the final headwall of the new Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel at the HRBT South Island on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. Mary started working on completing the second tunnel October 2024, after completing the first one earlier that year in April. Boring of both the East and Westbound tunnels is now complete. The tunnels are a part of a nearly $4 billion expansion project, which is the largest in Virginia history. The goal of the project is to widen the highway in both directions with the hope of mitigating traffic between the Southside and the Peninsula. The full expansion project is set to be completed by late February 2027.

Gall Zeidler Consultants is providing independent design verification (IDV) services for the tunnel and tunnel approach structures. GZ is also performing various structural calculations pertaining to the large diameter Bi-cell and Tri-cell tunnel launch and reception shafts located on the north and south islands, respectively. In addition to the IDV services, GZ is part if the on-site QA/QC inspecting team. GZ staff have performed inspections of the shaft waterproofing and concrete as well as serving as TBM shift inspectors.

Learn more about GZ’s project involvement on our project page.

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TBM breaks through the final headwall of the new Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel at the HRBT South Island on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025 (Courtesy of Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot)