NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – A decade in the making, the Ohio Creek Watershed Project is finished and it aims to keep two neighborhoods in Norfolk safe from future storms and flooding.
Norfolk has the highest sea level rise on the East Coast, according to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
Chesterfield Heights and Grandy Village are two neighborhoods that deal with flooding that the project sought to address.
“You are addressing the community issues and tying them into a larger scale resiliency effort,” said Travis Voyles, Virginia Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources.
A $112 million grant from the federal government helped give birth to this project.
One big part of the project is Resilience Park.
“It will be the place to be,” said Raytron White, president of Grandy Village’s Tenant Management Council.
It’s something White said will be a hot spot this summer. It has a new park area, basketball courts and places to sit and enjoy the view. The park also has a multi-use sports field.
“We don’t have to go to Ocean View or Virginia Beach,” White said. “We can go right outside our backdoor and see the water. Us to exercise and walk around our neighborhood.”
The park offers fun for the community, but it also protects Chesterfield Heights and Grandy Village neighborhoods.
“It’s really flood control and also all these amenities,” said Kyle Spencer, Norfolk’s chief resilience officer. “Basically, we transformed this place we are in now as a kind of open space that was wet all the time. It didn’t really dry up well. We really transformed it into a beautiful park. It’s got a line of protection this berm around it.”
The new park’s pavement bring the two communities together, making it easier to connect.
“I like the communities coming together and interacting together,” said Chesterfield Heights Civic League President Gail Parker.
The park is just one part of it.
With only two roads in and out, newly-raised roads help make sure the paths are clear of water.
A new drainage and pump system keeps rainwater from pooling up on the streets.
There is also a living shoreline on the banks of the Elizabeth River to protect the community from possible hurricane storm surges.
The project means neighbors in the area have one less thing to stress about.
“Now we can go asleep at night and don’t worry about any big floods,” White said. “We don’t have to worry about flooding. Our homes are being destroyed, and our property is being destroyed. We have some structure in our neighborhood now.”