VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Those looking forward to a new, less flood prone road to Sandbridge, will still likely be waiting nearly another decade.
The City of Virginia Beach, under the advisement of the Federal Highway Administration and Virginia Department of Transportation are now undertaking the process of completing an environmental impact study to fully analyze the scope and effects of extending Nimmo Parkway a mile and a half to Sandbridge Road.
The project, which first appeared in budget forecasting documents in the early 1990s, is meant to provide another path to the beachside community of more than 2,200 homes.
Sandbridge Road is currently the only way in and out by car and is known to flood easily, especially when southern winds push the waters of Back Bay over its banks.
The extension of Nimmo Parkway would be built along a strip of land, bought by the city nearly 30 years ago, that bisects the Lago Mar neighborhood, crosses Ashville Bridge Creek and through about a mile of the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
“Based on recent concerns raised by state and federal stakeholder agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the City was asked to conduct a more comprehensive environmental impact study (EIS) to evaluate project impacts,” the city has posted on its project webpage.
Project Manager Ryan Johnson said the designs shown to the community still remain much the same. The road would be a two-lane, undivided roadway with shoulders, on-road bike lanes, and a single shared-use path. The project runs from Albuquerque Drive to the west and Sandbridge Road to the east.
“It certainly adds time and money,” Johnson said of the environmental impact statement. “But again, if the decisions made, that we feel it’s in the best interests of the project, and is the best path to keep it moving forward, then certainly that’s a document and a study that we want to make sure is completed and done appropriately.”
So far, nearly $50 million has been spent on both phases of Nimmo Parkway Phase VII. Construction is currently underway at the area known as McLennan’s curve.
It’s currently estimated that another $40 million will be needed to complete the project.
“We hope by 2029 we have the funds available and we’re ready to execute a contract and continue construction from there,” Johnson said.
Recently, people who leave nowhere near the project footprint have received letters from VDOT requesting access to their property.
Johnson said this shouldn’t be interpreted as the need for additional property.
“All that means is they were just within the study area and that we feel that there is a reason that we might need to gather some type of data.”
