NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) — The Virginia Department of Transportation is conducting a site study involving an unmarked family cemetery near the I-64/I-264 Interchange Improvements Project in Norfolk.
On Wednesday morning, anthropological staff from VDOT visited the eastern side of Kempsville Road, south of the I-264 overpass.
VDOT officials said a gravel access road needs to be built for future inspections of that section of the interchange. The cemetery is not on the National Register of Historic Places.
When VDOT staff originally studied the area, they found close to two dozen graves with headstones, but they believe there are even more unmarked graves nearby.
Historical records indicate this is the location of a small family cemetery. The oldest marked grave belongs to Wilford K. Hawk (May 22, 1868 - June 14, 1935) and the most recent is Love Riggs Masters (September 27, 1889 - November 2, 1956).
On Wednesday, a backhoe began removing about 12 inches of topsoil, and staff began searching for signs of any unmarked graves. Those areas will then be marked. No graves will be dug up during this process.
Dave Forster, the communications specialist for VDOT's Hampton Roads district, said, "This is very rare for a project and VDOT tries to avoid grave sites whenever possible."
He said this digging project is not slowing down their overall work. However, “we haven’t found any [surviving] family members. Our research goes back to 2008.”
VDOT officials said they plan to remove any graves that are in the path of the new road on another day, and move them to a second location on the site.
PHOTOS: Unmarked graves examined near Interstate roadwork
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