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The two-year overpass project at the intersection of Nansemond Parkway and Wilroy Road is expected to be completed this August. The project started in August 2023 as a way to alleviate traffic build-up from the Nansemond railroad crossing and cost $29 million.

Since the start of construction, Capital Improvement Program Manager Alan Mushett said everything has gone to plan and remained on-track. While it’s not ideal for construction work, he mentioned key structures were installed during the winter in order to stick to the project timeline.

“This just completely gets rid of the bottleneck,” said Wayne Jones, Suffolk public works community outreach coordinator.

As the project comes to a close, Nansemond Parkway from the intersection at Bridlewood Lane to North of Ryan Arch will be closed from Tuesday, May 20 through Friday, June 6. Progress Road will serve as the detour route to minimize disruption. 

This project is one of three on Nansemond Parkway. 

The entrance to Nansemond River High School is being shifted to Sleepy Hole Road, and a traffic light will be added to the intersection of Sleepy Hole and Nansemond Parkway, which will “smooth out that peak-time traffic,” Jones said. The project is expected to finish this summer.

The Nansemond Parkway bridge is also being replaced, which Jones said will take less than a year to complete. This project will require a long-term road closure. Nansemond Parkway by the bridge, located near Beamons Mill Pond and close to Mac Benn Elementary School, will be closed starting June 9 and is expected to last until summer 2026.   

According to the overpass project proposal, “The intersection and rail crossing in their current

configuration poses a safety risk and motorists on both Nansemond Parkway and Wilroy Road can experience significant delays during a train crossing.”

The overpass will go over the existing Commonwealth Railroad and there will no longer be a rail crossing on Nansemond Parkway. 

The overpass bridge will be about 200 feet long and will be tall enough for double stacked train cars. It will also have 10- and 5-foot wide sidewalks, drainage improvements, stormwater management facilities, and new light signalization.

A rail crossing safety study conducted in October 2015 identified this railroad crossing as a safety problem for the city. 

The study identified that vehicles tend to cross the tracks rather than turn. Since there is one travel lane in each direction, the waiting vehicles create a “significant backup” on Nansemond Parkway and Wilroy Road.

“Often times, waiting traffic becomes frustrated with the delay created and will pull out across the double yellow lines, into the oncoming lane of traffic and attempt to pass all stopped vehicles,” reads the study.

From Jan. 1, 2010 to December 2014, the study identified 69 accidents reported to the police at the Nansemond and Wilroy intersection. Three of them were caused directly because of the train crossing being blocked. 

Jones said the public has voiced excitement for this project because the traffic has impacted so many people. Another good thing, he said, is the construction is out of the way of the main road, so traffic isn’t affected.

“This one’s a real positive,” he said. “People are looking forward to it.”

Mushett added “there is nothing but good news to report,” with there being no big challenges, no construction delays, and they were able to stick to the budget.