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VHB Bird Monitoring Team for HRBT Expansion Featured in Local News

Avian scientists protect birds during HRBT construction.

May 23, 2025

Anna Romano looks through binoculars as she bird monitors during a site visit.

The bird monitoring team for the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel (HRBT) expansion project was featured in WKTR News, a local media outlet in the Hampton Roads, Virginia, area. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) partnered with VHB to monitor and protect the local seabird colony of the HRBT South Island—the largest of its kind in Virginia—throughout the course of the massive construction project.

VHB's Anna Romano and Sara McMahen spoke with WKTR about the HRBT bird population and how their team works to monitor and respond to bird-related incidents 24/7. Through partnerships with local environmental agencies, and with the help of a group of trained border collies, Anna and Sara work behind the scenes to protect the large seabird population and preserve the ecological significance of the HRBT.

Read the article or watch the news segment to learn more.

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