NORFOLK, Va. — Drivers should plan around using Newtown Road on nighttime commutes through July 22.
Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) construction crews will be closing down part of the road near the I-264 interchange to widen the interstate's bridge.
Crews are working on phase two of the I-64/I-264 interchange improvements project, which is expected to be done this fall.
“This is going to help mobility, safety and improve congestion throughout the region,” explained VDOT spokeswoman Jordan-Ashley Walker.
A VDOT alert said the closures, which affect Newtown Road in both directions near the interchange, would be happening between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. this week. That's between Greenwich Road and Center Drive.
The project will add girders to widen the bridge between those two roads (exits 15 and 16).
Walker explained, “This is for the setting of bridge girders or support beams. The beams that help support the bridge deck which ultimately becomes the surface that motorists will travel on.”
Although the detour is supposed to wrap up on Friday morning, a spokesperson wrote that the construction work was weather-dependent, so the end date isn't set in stone.
Walker said, “We have made some significant progress recently we have opened Greenwich Road flyover, they will also notice some changes at the intersection with I-264, particularly the opening up of a roundabout and the new access to I-264, so we are really moving on this project and the setting of the bridge girders represents another major milestone.”
There will be signs up to help drivers find detours through the construction-affected area. Liz Taylor said she’ll be relying on her GPS to get around. She just moved to the area about two years ago.
“I don’t know my way around that well, so I get off right here on Newtown from Chesapeake and I really don’t know which way it’s going to bring me now,” Taylor said.
Drivers on I-264 will be affected, too.
VDOT is planning to close a few lanes on the interstate between Newtown Road and Witchduck Road between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. throughout the construction work.
“It’s already tough to get around so add the construction and forget it. Forget about it,” Taylor said.
VDOT officials want to remind drivers to be patient and said if they are driving in a construction area to please slow down and give the work crews plenty of room.