City Council unanimously approved a resolution to apply for funding through the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Smart Scale program during its Wednesday evening meeting.

Director of Public Works Eric Nielsen described four separate projects that the city plans to submit with their application for funding to VDOT. The projects total $96.4 million.

VDOT now requires that a resolution supporting the applications from governing bodies, which was not a necessity in the past, Nielsen said.

Due to its size, Suffolk is restricted to submitting only four projects, and the projects submitted must be a part of the city’s long-range transportation plan.

“If it is not in the long-range plan, you cannot submit it, and we’ve worked with VDOT for a plan of what may work and what may not work,” Nielsen said.

The submitted projects will be the North Suffolk Connector Phase I, Route 460 Safety Improvements, Route 58 Corridor Preservation Improvements and the Seaboard Coastline Trail Segment I.

The costliest project that Nielsen presented was for safety improvements to Route 460 headed towards the Isle of Wight County line. The project is expected to cost roughly $52.2 million.

This is a section of highway that VDOT has taken the time to study, and they have held public meetings with citizens both in Isle of Wight and Suffolk to help remedy the issue, Nielsen said.

Nielsen proposed, on a recommendation from VDOT, to widen the roads. The proposal suggested an 8-foot shoulder on both sides, 12-foot driving lanes, a 5-foot median and a 2-foot median barrier.

“This is a big project cost wise, but the accident history shows a lot of fatalities, injuries and personal property damage,” Nielsen said. “It’s scary to drive in that left lane when a tractor-trailer is two feet away from you, and that shoulder gives you a little bit more room for error.”

The North Suffolk Connector Phase I will cost roughly $33.7 million, and it will address an area stretching from Nansemond Parkway to Shoulders Hill Road, and it will allow citizens to avoid the railroad crossings on both roads, Nielsen said.

The last two projects were the least expensive of the four.

The Route 58 Corridor Preservation Improvements would cost $6.6 million, and it would add intersection improvements at Holy Neck and Lummis roads. Both intersections would receive a displaced left turn. The displaced left would remove the actual left turn and force the drivers farther up to make a U-turn, and it would result in a much safer and cost-effective traffic pattern, Nielsen said.

The final project is for the Seaboard Coastline Trail Segment I, costing almost $4.1 million. This would add bike paths from Moore Avenue to Suburban Drive.

The application for the projects has to be submitted to VDOT by the end of August, and VDOT will evaluate projects until December. There will be a number of public hearings before the Commonwealth Transportation Board approves a six-year plan for localities being awarded money.

Money for projects will begin to be available July 2019, and it will be spread out over a number of years, Nielsen said.