Another article & photos here also at Pilotonline.com today.
2nd photo from construction cam capturing blizzard of March 3rd ’17.
Author Archives: Tim
Governor McAuliffe Announces Updates to Virginia Flood Risk Information System
The new VFRIS was developed by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science’s Center for Coastal Resources Management in partnership with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, the agency responsible for the state floodplain management program.
“Flooding is the most common natural disaster our we experience in the Commonwealth, and our Hampton Roads and Eastern Shore communities are particularly at risk for severe damages caused by recurrent flooding.” said Governor McAuliffe. “It is my hope that VFRIS becomes a mainstay for homeowners, businesses, and communities going forward. March begins Flood Safety Awareness Month and I encourage all Virginians to access VFRIS to see how a flood might affect their home or business.”
View Virginia Flood Risk Information System (VFRIS) info:
Virginia Flood Risk Information System (VFRIS) is a collaboration between DCR and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science’s Center for Coastal Resources Management. VFRIS helps communities, real estate agents, property buyers and property owners discern an area’s flood risk.
Click screen shot to Launch VFRIS
Boat shop in Ocean Park robbed Super Bowl Sunday night. “King is asking anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the area between 7 p.m. Sunday night and 2 a.m. Monday morning to call police.”
Check story including video at WTKR.com.
“When all the damage is done, or how they pulled it out of the dash, all the steering and everything we are talking well over $200,000 of motors,” King told News 3’s Todd Corillo Wednesday.
Beach to bay bus in Virginian-Pilot
February Baylines from Bayfront Advisory Committee
View Baylines. [4 page PDF]
There’s a short Survey at VBGov.com that could help get Shore Drive upgraded in Ocean Park.
Question #9 please choose Shore Drive !
Help Ocean Park!
Question 9. Please rank the following roadway projects 1-8 in order of priority, with 1 being the highest priority and 8 being lowest. (Project | Unfunded Amount)
Please choose “Shore Drive Corridor Improvements Phase IV as #1 or slide it to top.
Extra bonus points.
Question 8. What else should we consider as we plan the future of public transit in Virginia Beach and the region?
Answer Question #8 by Write in: We want Shore Drive/Oceanfront Trolley Loop
Even more love for Ocean Park & Shore Drive.
Question 10. If you have any additional comments or questions, please write them here:
Write in: PLEASE FINISH SHORE DRIVE PHASE IV NOW
Click to start short survey.
#LESNERBRIDGE 1 lane each direction Wednesday Feb 1 from 9a-3p
From an email from Bayfront Advisory Committee:
BOTH directions of Shore Drive over the Lesner Bridge will be reduced to ONE LANE between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb.1, as crews repair a leaking 16-inch water main line. Affected lanes for this closure will be the INSIDE lanes both east and west bound, said Christopher J. Wojtowicz, project manager. Repairs will be done on Shore Drive at Vista Circle eastbound and at Page Avenue westbound.
“Westbound traffic on the Lesner Bridge will be reduced to one lane at Shore Drive and Page Avenue tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan. 31, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m….”
From Bayfront Advisory Committee email:
“. . .said Christopher J. Wojtowicz, project manager for the bridge replacement. The outside, right lane, will be closed while repairs are made to a shock-absorber-like “impact attenuator” that had been hit and to fix the concrete collar around one of the drainage inlets in that lane closest to the sidewalk. Plans call for the work to be completed and the lane reopened no later than 3 p.m.”
Screen shot of construction cam at 100pm January 30th 2017.
Switched! #LESNERBRIDGE
At about 6 pm. Please drive safely!
All traffic shares the new span until …
Paving today on Shore Drive – 1 lane from Leaping Lizard to Pleasure House Road.
Expect delays heading westbound. It’s 1 lane.
TODAY IS THE DAY! 1pm – hopefully done before rush hour. #LESNERBRIDGE
THE eastbound switch that is. 
“I wanted to give back to my community and bring people together through a collaborative project that everyone could enjoy,” she said.
Check out article at Pilotonline.com.
Photo courtesy of Michaella Lynch
“Public Works Waste Management collections will resume on Tuesday, Jan. 10 on schedule since there are no Monday collections. Due to road conditions, service may be slower than normal. Residents should leave bins out until crews can get to them.” And more updates . . .
City Working to Get Roads and Services Back ASAP at VBGov.com:
“The first priority is to make passable approximately 900 lane-miles of primary roads and an additional 300 lane-miles of priority streets that access hospitals, fire stations and police stations within 12 hours after snow stops falling,” said Phil Davenport, director of Public Works. “Neighborhood streets are not cleared because parked vehicles and other safety considerations make snow removal from these streets impractical or far too costly for the couple of storms we get each year. The process goes much quicker when citizens refrain from driving and streets are free of traffic.”
Main Winter storm update page at VBGov.com.
Pleasure House Point during Helena on Saturday. Photo Credit: Tim Solanic
Baylines January Edition
#LESNERBRIDGE open. Avoid driving best.
#LESNERBRIDGE CLOSED IN BOTH DIRECTIONS
“Council Extends Deadline for Waiver of Permit Fees for Disaster Repairs People now have until April 10, 2017 to get permits for repairs related to Hurricane Matthew.”
“Homeowners are just now receiving funds from their insurance companies and FEMA, so they needed more time to apply for permits and hire contractors to help with home repairs,” said Barry Frankenfield, director of Planning & Community Development. “We want to make it a little bit easier for property owners to get necessary repairs completed properly and safely. This extension will help homeowners continue to recover from damages caused by Hurricane Matthew.”
Click graphic to visit news page
“Live Oak Grove is over 100 live oaks on 3 acres of open space in Virginia Beach. Let’s permanently preserve it.” SDCC agrees.
SDCC voted unanimously to support permanently preserving Live Oak Grove. Join us ?
Live Oak Grove benefits Virginia Beach.
It is land already owned by City of Virginia Beach.
It contains over 100 live oaks, the Official City Tree…
Photo Credit: Kristina Bezanson
People in Cape Story lost everything in a fire Christmas Day.
There’s a fund raising page at GoFundMe.com to help them out.
Once they got their animals to safety they realized it was too late and everything in their house was engulfed in dark black smoke followed by whirling tornadoes of thick gray smog everywhere.
The family did not have renters insurance.
#LESNERBRIDGE update: “…traffic switch is tentatively scheduled for next Thursday December 29th. As always, this schedule is dependent upon the weather, as well as when …”
Email December 21st 2016:
Friends, Residents, Elves and Everything in Between (not that I want to know what THAT is!)
Despite being knee-deep in Christmas shopping and wrapping, not to mention going through egg nog like it’s water, Kingfish Chris, the bridgemaster, has passed along an update about the always interesting Lesner Bridge. And although it’s a bit uncomfortable trying to sit down and type this in an elf costume, I’m doing so because feel sure you would like to have this info before we get too deep into the holiday spirit.
As a reminder, we are regularly updating information on our WEB page at: http://www.vbgov.com/lesner-bridge. You can also follow us on Twitter at: @lesnerbridge.
If you know of someone who would like to be added to our update list, please have them get in touch with me at this e-mail address and I will be glad to add them. Please feel free to pass this along to others.
Our last bit of advice: If someone approaches you claiming to be one of Santa’s elves, ask to see some ID. It could be one of those punks over at Keebler trying to pull a fast one!
Thanks to you all for your support, patience and questions. Enjoy the holidays with family and friends, and please stay safe, look out for each other, and put the phone down while you’re driving.
Drew Lankford
Media and Communications
Department of Public Works
City of Virginia Beachdlankfor@vbgov.com
(O) 757.385.8062
(C) 757.409.4353*********************************************************************************************
To All:
As many of you have seen, a lot of work has been going on at the intersections of Shore Drive/Vista Circle and Shore Drive/East Stratford Street in preparation for the Phase 4 traffic switch of eastbound Shore Drive traffic over to the new bridge. So, before we all head off into the long holiday break, we wanted to provide you this brief project update of what to expect at the Lesner Bridge over the next few weeks.
First of all, the traffic switch is tentatively scheduled for next Thursday December 29th. As always, this schedule is dependent upon the weather, as well as when the paving contractor can be at the site to place the temporary asphalt at the widened bridge approaches.
In addition, pedestrians can now use both the new westbound Lesner Bridge AND the existing sidewalk on the eastbound Lesner Bridge to cross the Lynnhaven River.
On Tuesday, January 3rd (2017), the sidewalk on the existing eastbound Lesner Bridge will be CLOSED in preparation for bridge demolition. This means that pedestrians wishing to cross over the Lynnhaven Inlet will have to use the temporary pedestrian path located on the north side of the new westbound Lesner Bridge between Page Avenue and East Stratford Street. The 4-foot wide temporary path might feel a little cramped between the new handrail and the safety screening. Don’t worry . . . . the finished path will be widened to 10 feet at the completion of the project and the temporary safety screening will be removed to provide much more room for pedestrians and cyclists to comfortably share this pathway.
Cross-Section of Completed Westbound and Eastbound Lesner Bridges
Have a Happy and Safe Holiday!
– Chris
Christopher J. Wojtowicz, PE
Project 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
Screen shot construction cam from Dec 21 2016 430p.
#WeLoveShoreDrive 
