VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — During Tuesday's Virginia Beach City Council Work Session, city leaders received updates on a wide variety of topics including two major traffic improvement projects within the next several years.
Laskin Road construction nears completion
It's a stretch of road Virginia Beach drivers know well, but not because of the scenic drive or the smooth driving conditions.
For years, drivers have navigated the seemingly unending construction along Laskin Road just west of the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
“Just a little bit of a hot mess right now," Kimberly Levine said. "But it will get better.”
Levine, who just opened the Vibrant Wave Boutique in the Hilltop complex off of Laskin, has noticed gradual improvements to traffic flow as construction progresses but eagerly awaits when the entire section is completed.
“I think the traffic will definitely increase for business," she says.
At Tuesday's work session, Virginia Department of Transportation engineer Christopher Hall updated city council that crews are expected to finish the construction around the Hilltop shopping area by November 2024. This includes the intersection surrounding Laskin and First Colonial Road.
The construction, which originally started in 2019, costs an estimated $150 million including a $42 million investment from the city itself.
“It’s a two-mile road project with over 10 miles of utility relocations," Hall said.
The remaining replacement of the Eastbound Bridge is scheduled to be completed by Spring 2025.
Transforming interchange for I-264 and Independence Boulevard
A project on a timeline spanning not just years but potentially decades is the transformation of the intersection where Independence Boulevard meets Interstate 264 near Exit 17 by Town Center.
David Jarman, a Transportation Division Manager for the city, updated the city council on the Interchange Access Report (IAR) completion date for the end of 2025, another analysis in which stakeholders will look at maximizing efficiency and traffic flow for one of the most congested and trafficked sections in the city.
As many as 200,000 vehicles pass over the corridor every day, per Jarman.
Part of the IAR will include considerations for three alternative plans for the interchange, previously established from a former VDOT study from 2016.
The IAR's completion will:
- Incorporate widening of I-264 & new I-264 bridge over Independence Blvd
- Determine the best overall long-term design to serve the interstate, interchange, and Independence Blvd
Jarman acknowledged that it will still be years before shovels break ground on a project of this magnitude.