City makes progress on capital projects
Published 12:33 am Friday, July 20, 2018
Updates on improvements to multiple intersections in North Suffolk were on the agenda at City Council’s work session this week.
Eric Nielsen, director of Public Works, provided updates on five projects currently being worked in the city — Bridge Road and Shoulders Hill Road intersection; Bridge Road and Crittenden Road intersection; Nansemond Parkway and Wilroy Road overpass; Nansemond Parkway and Bennetts Pasture Road intersection; and the Godwin Boulevard and Kings Highway intersection.
All five of the projects are currently in the preliminary engineering stage.
The Bridge Road and Shoulders Hill Road intersection improvements are set to be completed by October 2023.
The project may run into some complications during the right-of-way acquisitions next year. Out of the five projects, it requires the most land acquisition, with 29 parcels being affected.
“Hopefully we can settle, but there are some that will protest us until we take it to court. Then the judge and jury will decide the fair cost of the parcel,” Nielsen said.
Improvements to the Bridge Road and Crittenden Road intersection will be completed sooner. Construction is slated to start in July 2020 and will last about a year.
There is a chance the project date could change depending on funding. The city has applied for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funding, but the funding won’t come until fiscal years 2023 or 2024.
Two other operations are under way on Nansemond Parkway.
Nansemond Parkway and Wilroy Road will be improved by realigning roadways and adding an overpass to go over the original Wilroy Road and train tracks.
This is the most expensive of the five projects, reaching a total of $25.7 million, but a majority of the funding is coming from federal and state funds.
Approximately 12 parcels will be affected by the construction, which is set to be finished by July 2023.
There will also be improvements made at the Bennetts Pasture Road and Nansemond Parkway intersection. The improvements will also affect Sleepy Hole Road and the entrances to Nansemond River High School.
Roughly 25 parcels will be affected by the construction, which will be completed by November 2022.
The Godwin Boulevard and Kings Highway intersection will be the quickest project for public works. They do not have to hold a public hearing or take time to acquire parcels, so the construction is scheduled to start in March 2019 and finish two months later.
The project is the least expensive, costing $1.5 million, with less than $1 million in local funds being used. The rest of the funds will come from the state.