Author Archives: Tim

“BOTH EASTBOUND AND WESTBOUND TRAFFIC CROSSING THE BRIDGE WILL BE REDUCED TO A SINGLE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION.” Saturday 10am to 10pm #LesnerBridge Update.

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PLEASE SHARE ENTHUSIASTICALLY !

Expect delays caused by single lane in both directions from 10am to 10pm.

From an email update from Project Manager:

Folks:

In the last project update (11/22/2017) we mentioned that we had issues with one of the 10 drilled shaft foundations for Pier #5 of the new eastbound bridge. Between the holidays, cold weather, and a longer than expected duration for remediation of drilled shaft #1 at Pier #5 construction of the EB bridge superstructure had been temporarily suspended. That was the bad news.

Now the good news. Shaft #1 at Pier #5 has been fully remediated, all 10 drilled shafts in this footing have been cut down to the correct elevation, and all of the reinforcing steel for the footing has been placed. The footing is now ready to receive the 400 cubic yards of concrete which is planned for tomorrow, February 3rd, 2018. The concrete will be delivered to this footing via two concrete pumper trucks parked near the center span of the Lesner Bridge eastbound lanes.

This, unfortunately, means lane closures on Lesner Bridge for most of the day tomorrow, Saturday February 3, 2018. Here are the details:

Beginning tomorrow, 2/3/2018 at approximately 10:00 AM single lane closures will be setup on Shore Drive approaching eastbound Lesner Bridge between DuPont Circle and Vista Circle. Single lane closures will also be setup during this time for westbound Shore Drive traffic approaching Lesner Bridge between Page Avenue and East Stratford Street. BOTH EASTBOUND AND WESTBOUND TRAFFIC CROSSING THE BRIDGE WILL BE REDUCED TO A SINGLE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION. BOTH eastbound lanes on Lesner Bridge will be CLOSED until the concrete placement operations are completed. All work and temporary lane closures on Shore Drive at Lesner Bridge are expected to be cleared by 10:00 PM Saturday night, February 3rd, 2018. Be advised that, in addition to the lane reductions on the bridge, there will also be flaggers present that will intermittently STOP all traffic in BOTH directions on the bridge to allow the arrival and departure of concrete delivery trucks.

There will be a lot of activity on the bridge tomorrow so please plan accordingly and drive slowly when crossing the bridge.

Once Pier #5 is complete, we will launch the gantry across the inlet, set the pier segments on Pier #5 and then launch to Pier #6 and set the pier segments on Pier column #6. Span #6 will then be assembled by picking segments off a barge moored in this location. After Span #6 is completed, the gantry will be back-launched toward the channel to complete the other half of the cantilever section of Span #5 that crosses the channel.

Footing Reinforcing Steel being placed at Pier #5 EB Bridge (Completed Pier Column #6 shown in background)

View looking East from East Stratford Street at the recently graded area for the 10-foot wide multi-use path that will cross the new EB Bridge.

Since the last update other work on the project continued while waiting for Pier #5 to be completed. The following work has been completed since the November 22, 2017 update:

· 4 additional segments of cantilever Span #5 have been constructed for the new EB bridge (8 total);

· The footing and column at Pier #7 have been completed;

· The cofferdam around the footing for Pier #8 has been installed and the and the area around the drilled shafts excavated;

· All four drilled shafts at Pier #9 have been installed (ALL DRILLED SHAFT INSTALLATION FOR THE PROJECT IS NOW COMPLETE);

· Abutment B for the EB bridge has been completed;

· Grading for the new 10-foot wide multi-use path between the new EB Bridge and East Stratford Street has been completed;

· The remaining two street lights (four total) on the western bridge approach have been installed;

Completed Abutment B EB Bridge. Forms being removed.

Completed Footing and Column at Pier #7 new EB Bridge (Forms shown being removed).

Over the next two weeks, the bridge contractor will:

· Complete the footing and column at Pier #5;

· Place reinforcement steel for the footing at Pier #8;

· Backfill Abutment B and complete MSE wall #5 located in front of the Virginia and Maryland Pilots Association;

· Install falsework for gantry launch at Pier #5;

· Complete concrete multi-use path along MSE wall #2 between East Stratford and the new EB Bridge; and

· Complete curb & gutter and median curb on the west side of the bridge between East Stratford Street and the new EB Bridge.

That’s it for now!

Drive Safely!

-Chris

Christopher J. Wojtowicz, PE
Engineering Construction Manager
City of Virginia Beach
Department of Public Works
Engineering Division
2405 Courthouse Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23456-9031
Office: (757) 385-5785
Fax: (757) 385-5668
Email: cwojtowi@vbgov.com

Meeting dates for STR and EH proposed ordinance changes

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Recent Planning Commission Workshop notes:

    Below is a summary of the Planning Commission Workshop held on January 24, 2018 on Short Term Rentals.
    Planning Commission Attending: Robert Thornton, David Weiner, Dee Oliver, David Redmond, Karen Kwasny, Jack Wall, and Jan Rucinski
    Staff Attending: Kay Wilson, Kevin Kemp, Carolyn Smith, Jimmy McNamara and Barry Frankenfield
    Public Attending: +/- 20
    Discussion and Briefings . . .

Upcoming meetings:

    Planning Commission: February 14, 2018
    City Council Briefing: February 20, 2018
    City Council Public Comment: March 6, 2018
    City Council Vote: March 20, 2018

BAC Meeting for Thursday cancelled

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From VBGov.com:

The Bayfront Advisory Commission meeting scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 18 has been canceled. Meetings are normally held at 3:30 p.m., on the third Thursday of each month, at the Virginia Beach Resort and Conference Center.

New Stormwater Appeals Board to be appointed at City Council Tuesday January 16th

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View the proposed changes from VBGov.com here. (58 page PDF)

New ordinance starts here:

    783 Sec. 1-1. Purpose and authority.
    784
    785 A. The purpose of this Ordinance is to ensure the general health, safety, and
    786 welfare of the citizens of the City of Virginia Beach and protect the quality and quantity
    787 of state waters from the potential harm of unmanaged stormwater, including protection
    788 from a land disturbing activity causing unreasonable degradation of properties, water
    789 quality, stream channels, and other natural resources, and to establish procedures
    790 whereby stormwater requirements related to water quality and quantity shall be
    791 administered and enforced.

    And includes:

    1149 …The Board shall be appointed by City Council and shall
    1150 consist of six (6) members, one (1) from the Department of Planning, one (1) from the
    1151 Department of Public Works, one (1) from the Department of Public Utilities and three (3) citizen members.

View entire City Council Agenda here.

Planning Commission December 13th meeting that includes STR and Event Home discussion.

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You can watch the 3 hours and 55 minute video below.

When Minutes are posted, they will be available at VBGov.com here.
Official page for Online Home Sharing Economy here.*
(*Please note: Broken links remain on page as of the time of this posting.)

THE live oak in Chics Beach is getting crown cleaning and branch reduction Tuesday December 19th.

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From an email:

Good afternoon Elisa,

I received word today that our contractor plans to do the crown cleaning and branch reduction tomorrow for the Live Oak at 2512 Bayview Avenue. We are requesting any onlookers to remain well back from city and private property lines in order to insure safety. This should be good timing for the work, as trees have now entered dormancy due to the colder temperatures. Landscape Management has every expectation that the work will go smoothly and be beneficial for the health of this notable tree.

Sincerely,

Susan French
City Arborist
Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation

Landscape Management Division | 4141 Dam Neck Road | Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Phone 757.385.4076 | Fax 757.427.1895|sfrench@vbgov.com | VBgov.com/Parks

View Petition at Change.org that helped get this beloved live oak some extra care.

NEW Public Engagement Tool by City of Virginia Beach requires YOUR ACTION.

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From today’s email:

Transitioning to a New Public Engagement Tool

Dec 17, 2017 04:09 pm | The City of Virginia Beach

Thank you for participating in past Virtual Town Hall surveys. Your input helps city leaders make decisions about issues, projects and services that affect the community.

We wanted to let you know that we will be transitioning to a new public engagement tool in January. This new platform will enhance our capabilities to gather public input; it offers a mobile-first technology and broader tools to help us design options for people to provide feedback. We’ll start using it early in 2018 for projects such as the entertainment district at the Oceanfront and strategies for revitalizing neighborhoods, just to name a couple. Unfortunately, we are not able to transfer your email address to the new platform. If you would like to be notified when the new system is online, please send an email to news@vbgov.com asking to be added to the new database. Your information will only be used for this platform and will not be shared. Alternatively, watch for the announcements in January and please be sure to join in and spread the word so we can get as many people involved as possible.

We appreciate your participation and look forward to hearing from you in the new year.

Sincerely,

Julie Hill, PhD

Communications Director

If you would like to be notified when the new system is online, please send an email to news@vbgov.com asking to be added to the new database.

Join us Monday to hear Detective J.I. Cole VBPD Economic Crimes Unit presentation!

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Come hear Detective J. I. Cole from the VB Economic Crimes Unit speak at our next SDCC meeting, this Monday 18 DEC at 7:30 at the Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad Building (Shore Drive and West Stratford just west of the Lesner Bridge).

Find out what you have to do if your identity gets stolen, or somebody steals your credit card
number. Find out how to end ROBOCALLs or how to stop all those credit card offers that you don’t want. Detective Cole will be there to give you the information that you will need to keep your identity and credit safe.

I have heard her speak and she is very good.

PEDESTRIAN STRUCK ON SHORE DRIVE at MARLIN BAY. Life threatening injuries.

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HAPPENING NOW

First news at WAVY.com.

The accident is being investigated by VBPD Fatal Crash Team.

Coyotes are now your neighbor

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View article including photos at Pilotonline.com.

“Coyotes and wolves and dogs don’t normally get along,” Fies said. “But when a species is expanding its range, and there’s not enough of its own kind for mating, I guess they can get along for long enough.”

Because of that, Fies says, our coyotes are a little bigger than the ones out west, and come in more colors – from blonde to black – which can make them even harder to recognize.

Photo credit: Eric Hauser

Sea Level Rise Public Meetings Schedule for Shore Drive area including fascinating map designating areas.

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Main info page at VBGov.com.

All of the meetings will take place from 6 to 8 p.m.

Shore Drive areas are split into 3,30 & 31.

​Mon., Dec. 11, 2017 ​8, 29, 30 ​
Oceanfront: Beach District and the Lynnhaven east of Great Neck Road ​​
Cooke Elementary School,
1501 Mediterranean Avenue

Thurs., Jan 25, 2018 ​​3, 4 ​
Western Lynnhaven: North of Princess Anne Road; bounded to the east by South Rosemont Road and Little Neck Road ​
Princess Anne High School,
4400 Virginia Beach Blvd.

Mon., Jan. 29, 2018 1,31
Little Creek: Area to the east where Shore Drive meets Northampton Blvd.​ ​
Bayside High School,
4960 Haygood Road

Seems strange Bayfront community was spit up into 3 meetings none held here.

19 trees stolen from Tin Soldiers

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News including vid at WTKR.com.

For the small business, they said that’s a good amount of money. The police officer who responded to their call said that would be considered a felony.

Updated CIP Phase 3 page with all files

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Thanks to Chris Wojo for the great presentation last night!

He also uploaded all the files for Phase 3 also known as 2.117.000.

Here’s the Official Phase 3 2.1117.000 page.

As you heard last night, some highlights of Phase 3 includes:

    Stormwater work including saving live oaks at the new pond at Shore Drive & Page Ave.
    Stormwater work that’ll also tie into the CIP on the Cape Henry Ditch.
    Stormwater work on the north side of Shore Drive problem areas.
    Wider sidewalks on both the north and south side.
    Bike lanes on both the north and south side.

Young humpback whale died & had necropsy on Lynnhaven beach today

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Read and view more photos at Pilotonline.com.

Juvenile humpback whale found dead near Lynnhaven Fishing Pier at 13NewsNow.com.

Dead whale spotted in Chesapeake Bay brought ashore by Virginia Aquarium at WTKR.com.

Dead whale spotted near Chic’s Beach at WAVY.com.

Note: Area where humpback whale was brought to shore is not Chics Beach.

“The City Council approved a change in zoning for the Marina Shores Marina property off North Great Neck Road Tuesday, paving the way for a new apartment complex and restaurant to be built.”

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News at Pilotonline.com:

Also, there is no traffic signal or crosswalk at Lynnhaven Drive and North Great Neck Road, and residents want to be able to cross safely.

Councilman Jim Wood, who represents the Lynnhaven area, said he wants the city manager to evaluate options on North Great Neck Road, where the speed limit is 45 mph.

#LESNERBRIDGE update from Project Manager: “The answer is we cannot launch the gantry across the channel to complete construction of the center span until. . .”

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Update from email:

Folks:

It’s been a while since the last update on the project and some of you have asked why it seems that we have stopped construction of the bridge superstructure over the inlet channel. The answer is we cannot launch the gantry across the channel to complete construction of the center span until we complete construction of Pier #5. The construction of pier 5 was delayed over the summer due to an issue with one of the 10 drilled shafts installed for this foundation. This shaft was completed this past Saturday 11/18/2017 and work is currently under way to prepare the formwork for the footing of this pier.

Once Pier #5 is complete, we will launch the gantry across the inlet, set the pier segments on Pier #5 and then launch to Pier #6 (recently completed) and set the pier segments on Pier column #6. Span #6 will then be assembled by picking segments off a barge moored in this location. After Span #6 is completed, the gantry will be back-launched toward the channel to complete the other half of the cantilever section of Span #5 that crosses the channel. So for the next two months expect see a lot of activity in the area of Pier #5 (east side of the channel).

Completed Drilled Shafts at Pier #5 EB Bridge (Completed Pier Column #6 shown in background)

View looking WNW at Cantilever A of Span 5 of the new EB Lesner Bridge.

Although the construction of Pier #5 was delayed, other bridge work continued and a lot has been done since the last update. Since our last project update in September the following work has been completed:

· Span #4 (of 10) and 4 segments of cantilever Span #5 have been constructed for the new EB bridge;

· Drilled Shaft foundations at Pier #5 have been completed;

· The footing and column at Pier #6 have been completed;

· The footing at Pier #7 has been completed;

· All four drilled shafts at Pier #8 have been installed;

· Two of the four drilled shafts at Pier #9 have been installed;

· Two of the three concrete placements for bridge Abutment B have been completed;

· The new bridge fender system beneath the new eastbound bridge has been completed (only four piles remain to be installed between the two new bridges);

· Construction of the bridge approach slab on the west side of the bridge has been completed;

· The storm drain system on the eastern bridge approach has been completed;

· The storm drain system on the western bridge approach has been completed (tie-in to existing stormwater drainage system at East Stratford Street currently under way);

· The retaining wall, including scenic overlook area, along Piedmont Circle and next to American Brew and the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp Office has been completed;

· Two of the four new street lights on the western bridge approach have been installed;

· All casting of bridge segments have been completed for the project by Atlantic Metrocast in Portsmouth, VA;

Partially Completed Abutment B EB Bridge. Forms being removed.

Completed Footing at Pier #7 new EB Bridge.

Over the next two weeks, the bridge contractor will:

· Complete drilled shaft foundations at Pier #9 (this will complete all drilled shaft installation on the project);

· Set formwork and chip drilled shafts to specified elevation at Pier #5;

· Place column at Pier #7;

· Complete MSE wall #5 located in front of the Virginia and Maryland Pilots Association ;

· Work on setting 4 more segments in Span #5; and

· Complete curbing along MSE wall #2 located next to the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp Office;

That’s it for now.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and Please drive safely!

-Chris