NORFOLK, VA – Construction is underway on Norfolk’s first SMART SCALE Project: Virginia Beach Boulevard Improvements at Newtown Road. The next phase of work begins this week where the westbound and eastbound travel lanes will reduce from two lanes to one wide lane in each direction. The lane reduction will occur during daytime hours. At the end of the day, lanes will be restored back to two 11-foot lanes. This phase should be complete this fall.
The project, about 0.3 miles in length, expands the capacity of Virginia Beach Boulevard from four to six lanes, in a critical segment that connects an eight-lane section in Norfolk and a six-lane section in Virginia Beach.
The $3.5 million project will remove portions of an outdated feeder road system that presents operational and safety challenges along Virginia Beach Boulevard between Clarence Street and Newtown Road. The new cross-section will also widen the median, improve drainage, as well as add sidewalks and planting strips along this heavily utilized transit corridor. Major intersection improvements will occur at the Newtown Road intersection to relieve congestion and add pedestrian crossings.
Virginia’s SMART SCALE is about picking the right transportation projects for funding and ensuring the best use of limited tax dollars. It is the method of scoring planned projects included in VTrans that are funded by House Bill 1887. Transportation projects are scored based on an objective, outcome-based process that is transparent to the public and allows decision-makers to be held accountable to taxpayers. Once projects are scored and prioritized, the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) has the best information possible to select the right projects for funding. The city’s Department of Transit is managing the Virginia Beach Boulevard project.