NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- For the first time in two months, all lanes at the Brambleton Avenue underpass in Norfolk are open to traffic.
One eastbound lane, headed toward Norfolk State University, had been closed since Hurricane Matthew hit in early October. Officials say the rain from Matthew damaged the pump that normally drains the underpass.
"It's bad for people who live here locally," says driver Reubin Houston, Jr. "You know, I just come through there every once in a while, but I know that any time it rains and it rains for a long time, you can't go through there."
The day after Hurricane Matthew moved through Hampton Roads, the City of Norfolk posted pictures to their social media accounts of the underpass at Brambleton Ave and Virginia Beach Boulevard completely underwater. The city warned drivers to expect closures for several days.
"This is a high-traffic area," says local resident Brice Wilson. "It's a high-traffic area, so -- pure point-blank -- we don't need flooding."
As draining began at the underpass, cars and trucks were found submerged in the water as drivers were forced to abandon their vehicles there. One eastbound lane was closed for two months, after officials say the pump that normally drains the underpass needed to be fixed.
"Because it was so much rain, it just overfilled and the pumps couldn't handle the tremendous amount of rains that were coming through," says Trista Pope-Fayton with the City of Norfolk.
After that major flooding, the City of Norfolk says repairs to the pump station are now complete, and it's ready to withstand the next storm.
"We will be monitoring it, as we always do. We will be prepared, as we always do," says Pope-Fayton. "And... we're hoping that nothing like this happens again. We want to reassure that the citizens of Norfolk are in good hands."
For more on the repairs at the Brambleton Avenue underpass, contact the Norfolk Cares Center at 664-6510.
