Signs going up for Hampton’s Neil Armstrong Parkway, formerly named Magruder Boulevard

HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — It’s been more than a year since Hampton City Council decided to rename Magruder Boulevard, and now the signs are going up for Neil Armstrong Parkway.

Contractors began replacing street signs on some streets this week, Hampton wrote on social media Monday.

Work is being coordinated by the Virginia Department of Transportation and should be completed this month, the city said.

The new name honors the first man to walk on the moon, which is more in line with the city’s connection to NASA.

Magruder Boulevard was named after John Magruder, a Confederate general who defended Yorktown and the Virginia Peninsula from advancing Union troops.

Last year, City Manager Mary Bunting said money to make the changes would need to be included in the fiscal year 2021 budget. The estimated cost to VDOT to replace just the Interstate 64 signs was between $40,000 and $60,000.

The city said about 25 city-owned signs needed to be changed.