Fort George was built on the same site in 1727, and was abandoned in 1749. As described on Eighteenth Century Virginia Hurricanes, a hurricane storm surge raised the level of Chesapeake Bay 15 feet, created Willoughby Spit at Norfolk, and washed away the fort's walls. The location of modern-day Hampton was buried under four feet of water on October 19, 1749.
Today, I-64 has been reconfigured so it can be converted into a hurricane escape route. If necessary, all eastbound traffic can be stopped and those lanes used for westbound traffic inland to Williamsburg.