VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) — People who live near Sandbridge got their chance to learn about a multi-million dollar construction project.
On Wednesday, Virginia Beach city leaders held a meeting for the public at Three Oaks Elementary School. The goal of the meeting was for it to discuss what the proposed extension project from Nimmo Parkway to Sandbridge Road will entail.
Ryan Johnson, the project manager, said the meeting was an opportunity for the city to hear the public's input on the design of the new road.
"It's very early in our process we know it's gonna be a long process to get through design, but we'd like for the community to come out and let us know what they would like from this roadway," said Johnson.
While many people who live in the community are glad the city is getting around to the proposed project, they feel it's long overdue.
Andrew Roper, the President of the Sandbridge Beach Civic League has been driving up and down Sandbridge Road since 1997. He's dealt with his share of road closures and long commutes. Roper said an alternate route is crucial because anytime Sandbridge Roads floods, it leads to the same thing.
"Shutting down Sandbridge Road and necessitating us to travel to Dam Neck base to reach any other portion of Dam Neck Base, usually adds an additional 20-30 minute to the commute," said Roper.
The project will cost a total of $32 million. Its purpose is to improve access to Sandbridge whenever there's an accident or major flooding in the area.
Local, Bob Kugler, liked what the city has in store.
"I think Nimmo will be the way to get back and forth. People will still use Sandbridge who are local, but frankly, there's such a difference in length and speed and safety,” said Kugler.
Kugler lives in Red Mill and is used to taking the windy road of Sandbridge to get to the beach, and he said he is used to the flooding.
"It gets really bad if you have south wind for several days, and then rainstorm, adding water from above. Now you're stuck because you don't have anyplace for the water to get out,” said Kugler.
City Councilwoman Barbara Henley said the new project is a vision of the future and flooding prevention for the city.
"One of the first steps that we take in the infrastructure that we build, is we accommodate the future flooding issues. They designed it to accommodate up to three feet of sea-level rise. We'll be helping the part of the road that has severe flooding issues,” said Henley.
According to the city of Virginia Beach, the new extension will be a two-lane road with one lane of traffic going in each direction. It'll have shoulder lanes, bike lanes, a shared-use path, and the road will be raised to prevent heavy flooding.
City Transportation Project Manager David Jarman was at the meeting on Wednesday to answer any questions people had.
"Obviously some of the areas have developed, so I think some of the people are starting to feel the impacts from it, so I think the city is just trying to respond to that need as we're hearing that from the citizens,” said Jarman.
While the city has sketches and plans, Jarman said the groundwork to bring them to life is far away.
"The environmental effort we have started, so we're very early in the design process. We don't have all the funding we need, but this allows us to get started and find out what funding we need to pursue,” said Jarman.
However, there's something about it that isn't sitting well with residents.
It's not expected to be completed until 2030. That's 12 years from now, and those who support having the new road built said that's way too long.
"We should've had the road in by now," said Roper. "With the latest announcement that this may be delayed till 2030, quite frankly, it's just unacceptable."
The speed of this project's completion depends on how quickly the city will fund it.
Johnson said as of right now, he doesn't even have enough funding for the design portion of the project, which is just the first step. If the project continues down this path, people will be waiting for a very long time.
"Our schedule as of it is right now is based on funding that is available to us at this point in time," said Johnson.
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