Read article at Pilotonline.com:
Crews will focus on the area west of the Lynnhaven Fishing Pier and north of Fort Story.
Virginia Beach used to have a permanent fund for beach replenishment, but stopped putting money in it during the recession, which began in December 2007. Since then, Public Works has shifted money around as beaches have needed erosion repair.
Read & comment at Pilotonline.com:
Among the proposed messages: “Keep your dog from running up uninvited to unfamiliar people, unfamiliar dogs, or leashed dogs,” and, “Dogs off leash might claim balls that do not belong to them, which can lead to aggression. If a fight breaks out, pull dogs apart from the back. Call Animal Control 757-385-5000 ext. 2.”
Check story with photos at Pilotonline.com:
The park, at 3125 Shore Drive, is being prepared for installation of new playground equipment.
Read the 4page PDF newsletter:
Beach replenishment planned
City Public Works crews are planning to replenish eroded sand on the Cape Henry beach between the Lynnhaven Fishing Pier and Lynnhaven Inlet this spring.
Plans call for 30,000 cubic yards of beach-quality sand to be trucked from the Crab Creek storage area at a cost of about $400,000. Funds would be sought within the current budget. Plans and permits from previous beach-replenishment projects are in place and may need only minor modifications, said Public Works Director Phillip A. Davenport in a March 18 memorandum to the city manager.
Works could begin in April or May and should take about 30 days to complete.
Councilmember Rosemary Wilson forwarded me a copy of your numerous questions related to the Neighborhood SSD Dredging Program. Attached you will find responses to each. Let me assure you that the City of Virginia Beach adheres to all regulatory and safety provisions when performing construction work either in-house with our City workforce or by contractors.
Previously at SDCC.info: Search “Dredging” results
Click on the link for a printable version of the agenda 3.28.16 SDCC Agenda
SDCC General Meeting Agenda
Monday March 28, 2016 from 7:30 to 9:00pm Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad Hall
(parking in back, on side streets and across Shore Drive)
Special Presentations – None
Officer’s Reports Secretary – David Williams; Treasurer’s Report – Kathy Pawlak; Vice President – Wally Damon; President – Todd Solomon
Old Business-
Shore Drive to Oceanfront Bus Loop – Update on proposed seasonal bus route between Shore Drive and the Oceanfront. City staff, Councilman Wood, Bayfront Advisory Committee, Hampton Roads Transit (HRT), First Landing State Park reps and SDCC met at State Park to discuss proposed service.
Marina Shores Proposed Development – Update on proposal to rezone the site and construct 261 apartments.
Possible Dredge Transfer Station at Crab Creek – Update on the possibility of using the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp at Crab Creek for a transfer site, the neighborhood dredge program in general and actions of the Beaches and Waterways Commission.
New Business –
Bayfront Advisory Commission News – Mr. Wally Damon will update us on the actions of the Bayfront Advisory Commission.
City of VB Comprehensive Plan 2016 – The final draft is out for review prior to City Council vote on May 17th. Would a presentation from City staff at the SDCC April 25th meeting be beneficial?
Community Concerns – Does your neighborhood/condo have any issues that have come up that need help or may be a warning to others?
Civic Engagement Opportunities-
Comprehensive Plan Comments –
City Budget Comments –
Next SDCC Meeting – Monday April 25, 2016
Now, it’s finally getting off the ground. And Viau’s back.
This time, instead of knocking back a cold one, he’s shoring up concrete for an apartment complex.
“Happy hour on a Friday – this was the place to go,” said Viau, project manager for Clancy & Theys, the general contractor.
Photo Credit: Stephen M. Katz | The Virginian-Pilot
Photo Credit: Clancy Theys
Here’s recent detailed info about the project at VBGov.com:
May 13, 2015 Public Hearing
APPLICANT: GREYSTAR GP II, LLC
PROPERTY OWNER: THE TERRY COMPANIES FIVE, LLC
Screenshot of Lesner Bridge Construction Camera just before amazing sunset Friday night. Click to go to Construction Cam.
Special Formal Sessions and Public Hearings for FY ’16/’17 Resource Management Plan [Budget]:
Thursday, April 21— 6 p.m.
Tuesday, April 26 — 6 p.m.
Frank W. Cox High School
2425 Shorehaven Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
More info about Budget Hearings at VBGov.com
At VBGov.com: No Tax Increases in City’s Proposed $1.9 Billion Budget
Under this budget, Virginia Beach would still have the lowest tax rates among the seven cities of Hampton Roads on:
· Real estate
· Cars
· Meals tax rate
· Machinery and toolsThe proposed budget funds dozens of capital projects in the coming year. The six-year, $3-billion capital plan calls for 209 construction projects, among them:
· Replacing the Lesner Bridge . . .
VBGov.com FY 2016-17 Budget Information
Welcome to the city budget website. Shown below are four new interactive ways to access budget data that used to only be available in a static document.
click to visit VBGov.com
Can you guess what the plans are from?
Thanks to Chris Wojectmanageroflesnerbridge for the photos!
March 23th 2016 update:
To Fans and Keen Observers of the Lesner Bridge Project:
“Spring has sprung, the grass has risen, the project continues, and I like bacon”
My literary and poetic skills aside . . . the slow departure of winter and emergence of warmer, spring weather has inspired our Bridge Guru, the honorable Chris Wojtowicz – to come forth with a Lesner Bridge Project Update – just as the groundhog predicted.
Work is proceeding fast and furiously, with crews taking advantage of the warmer temps to get as much done as possible. Just so you’ll have a more in-depth analysis, Chris explains all the latest details below.
As always, please feel free to let Chris or me know if you have any questions or need more information. If you haven’t had the opportunity to watch this construction sequence animation, please check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVkeFJWm85s&feature=youtu.be
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.
Thanks again for all of your interest and patience throughout this project. Summer is just around the corner, so hang in there.
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:
“In like a Lion, out like a Lamb”, this March is certainly living up to that saying.
The Lesner Bridge project team loves the “Lamb” and the warmer weather that is beginning to work its way into Virginia Beach. It’s a welcome change to the cold, wet and windy February that we experienced.
Many of you have noticed something different about the bridge construction recently – only half of a bridge span was constructed before the gantry crane was moved and is now resting on what appears to an unsupported (floating) extension of the bridge superstructure. You can see this this step in the construction sequence animation at about 2:08 minutes in. Although this looks odd, we can assure you that the bridge has been designed specifically for this point in construction.
We are now working on Span 5 (of 10) on the new westbound Lesner Bridge. This particular span is 225 feet long and is the main center span of the bridge. All other spans of the bridge are 150 feet wide and can be built entirely beneath the gantry (span by span construction). Since the main span is greater than 150 feet, the gantry crane cannot use the span by span construction method and instead must use the cantilever method. The additional strength needed to support this cantilevered section of bridge is provided by additional internal tendons located inside the top deck of bridge spans 4, 5, and 6 as well as temporary external tendons located inside the box girders of spans 4, 5, and 6. The top deck tendons (cantilever tendons) are snaked through the main span segments, through the adjacent pier segments, and anchored into subsequent typical segments in span 4 (or span 6 if on the east side of the channel).
Internal Tendons (inside blue stressing jack) inside top deck of Span 5 of the new Westbound Lesner Bridge
Internal Tendon Anchorages (top corner areas) inside Span4 of the new Westbound Lesner Bridge
Temporary External Tendons (black pipe) inside Span 5 of the new Westbound Lesner Bridge
Span 5 will be built in two sections; 5A (west of channel and built from west to east) and 5B (east of channel and built from east to west). The construction of span 5A has been completed and the gantry is currently being readied for a launch over to the steel falsework located at pier #5 (east side of the channel).
The construction of span 5B gets a little tricky since we have to balance the construction loads at pier #5 in order to prevent damage and/or failure of this new pier column. To accomplish this, we are going to build span #6 (150 feet wide and located between piers #5 and #6) prior to completing span 5B. Once span #6 is anchored (via tendons) to the two piers, this span will serve as a counterweight to balance the load that span 5B will place on the column at pier #5. Therefore, over the next 5 weeks you will see the following work taking place on the bridge superstructure:
1) Both pier segments placed on top of pier column #5;
2) The steel falsework moved from pier #5 to pier #6;
3) The gantry launched from pier #5 to pier #6;
4) Both pier segments placed on top of pier column #6;
5) Typical segments for span #6 delivered by barge;
6) Gantry will lift typical segments from the barge and set them into place for span #6;
7) Gantry will backlaunch (from east to west) to span #5;
8) Span #5 bridge segments will be delivered by truck to the gantry and will be assembled in span 5B from east to west;
9) The main span closure (bridge center) will be cast in place and continuity tendons installed to join spans 5A and 5B.
10) Gantry will be launched to span #7
Yes, it’s complicated. With all these additional steps the work may seem like it’s slowing down but we can assure you that progress is being made on these critical path tasks.
Now, a brief summary of work that we have completed since the last project update (2/10/2016):
Ø Span 4 and 5A (of 10) of the new westbound Lesner Bridge has been completed;
Ø The falsework at pier #5 has been installed in preparation for the next gantry launch;
Ø The footing for pier 8 has been completed, thus completing all of the bridge footings for the westbound bridge;
Ø The construction of pier columns #7 and #8 have been completed;
Ø The steel reinforcing for pier column #9 has been tied and is being readied for concrete placement. This is the last pier column for the westbound bridge;
Ø We completed segment casting for spans 7 and most of 8;
Ø Both storm drain structures have been installed on the east side of East Stratford Street north of Shore Drive;
Ø The parapet wall and handrail anchor bolts have been installed on the MSE wall in front of 3556 On the Bay Condominiums and across spans 1,2, and 3;
Ø The permanent barrier wall along the south side of the new westbound Lesner Bridge has been installed up to span 3; and
Ø Approximately 300 feet of conduit and water main has been installed inside the new bridge.
Water main, Power and Communications Conduit inside the new Westbound Lesner Bridge
Completed Bridge Spans 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5A Cantilever of the new Westbound Lesner Bridge
With the exception of pier column #9, the construction of all of the new westbound bridge substructure has been completed including all of the drilled shaft foundations and pier footings. As we have mentioned earlier, erection of the bridges superstructure continues with an expected bridge completion date in September 2016.
AMI, Inc. in Portsmouth, continues to build the superstructure of the new Lesner Bridge. A total of 134 of the 168 bridge segments have been cast for the new westbound bridge.
Over the next two weeks, the bridge contractor will:
Ø Launch the gantry to span #6 and set the pier segments on pier columns #5 and #6;
Ø Form and place the concrete in the column for Pier #9 (this is the last remaining column to be constructed for the westbound bridge);
Ø Install various utilities inside the completed sections of the westbound bridge
Ø Install the new storm drain pipe along the east side of East Stratford Street on the north side of Shore Drive.
That’s it for now. Please drive safely!
– 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
Screenshot of construction cam taken 142pm today
Screenshot of construction cam taken 142pm today
Check Pilotonline.com article:
The 66-year-old Navy veteran rides from his house in Bayside’s Thoroughgood area to Rudee Inlet at the Oceanfront and back three days a week. He soaks up the view of the Chesapeake Bay, First Landing State Park and the Atlantic Ocean along the way.
From an email update:
Folks,
The construction of the new westbound Lesner Bridge has reached a point where we are about to cross the federal channel.
At this point in construction we will be temporarily closing the channel at various times during the day to allow construction vessels to load/unload material and equipment up to the center span of the bridge (span #5). Boaters should expect and plan for these periodic channel closures beginning this week and extend at least until the week of March 14th 2016.Over the next several weeks the bridge contractor will cantilever out 8 segments in span 5 from Pier #4 (west side of the channel) and then launch the gantry over to Piers #5 and #6 (east side of the channel) and build out span 6. The U.S. Coast Guard, Virginia and Maryland Pilots Association have also been made aware of these intermittent closures.
We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we work in and around the federal channel during the month of March 2016.
Sincerely,
-Chris
Zoomed screen shot of construction camera from this morning
Wondering what’s being built at the old Duck-In site ?
Now you can watch what’s going on at their construction camera.
click image to view camera
We’ve added the link to the construction camera in the left column too.
Thanks to Chris W. COVB Project Manager for the link tip!
View Baylines Newsletter (4pg PDF)
Event houses: A sweet getaway?
Or a neighborhood nightmare? Fixing the 2.
City staff is wrestling with the complicated issue of “event houses.” They are dwellings that are rented out for short-term destination events like weddings and reunions.
Karen Lasley, city zoning administrator, and William Macali, assistant city attorney, have been making presentations and gathering comments and suggestions about if and how to regulate these properties in a way that preserves the residential nature of waterfront communities as well as the rights of property owners to entertain on their lands.
Their latest presentation was at the Bayfront Advisory Commission. . .
Click here for a printable version of the 2.29.16 SDCC Agenda
You won’t want to miss this meeting, lots of great presentations line up. Come out and meet your neighbors and learn about the many projects being planned in our neighborhoods.
SDCC General Meeting Agenda
Monday February 29, 2016 from 7:30 to 9:00pm
Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad Hall
(parking in back, on side streets and across Shore Drive)
Special Presentations –
Officer’s Reports
Secretary – David Williams; Treasurer’s Report -Kathy Pawlak; Vice President – Wally Damon; President – Todd Solomon
Old Business-
Shore Drive to Oceanfront Bus Loop – Update on proposed seasonal bus route between Shore Drive and the Oceanfront. The trial has been delayed to May 2017 and will not happen this year.
New Business –
Bayfront Advisory Commission News – Mr. Wally Damon will update us on the actions of the Bayfront Advisory Commission.
Shore Drive and Stratford Intersection Improvement – CIP 2.300.119 to be worked 1/2017 to 7/2017 will include a new traffic signal (black mast arms and poles), pedestrian crossing signals, stamped asphalt crosswalks, additional sidewalk, new curb & gutter, and a new asphalt overlay in the intersection with thermoplastic pavement markings.
Community Concerns – Does your neighborhood/condo have any issues that have come up that need help or may be a warning to others?
Remember to VOTE tomorrow in either the Democrat or the Republican Primaries.
The polls are open between 6am and 7pm.
Next SDCC Meeting – Monday March 28, 2016
Hooray!
View the CIP at City of Virginia Beach, VA Public Works Capital Project Detail Sheet 2.300.119: Shore Dr and Stratford Intersection Improvement
Construction of these improvements is scheduled to take place starting in January 2017 and be complete by July 2017.
Info from an unedited email from Project Manager Chris W.:
The design contract for the Shore Drive and Stratford Intersection Improvement (CIP 2.300.119) has been negotiated and is currently in our Contracts Department for processing (submitted 2/3/2016). We expect an executed Work Order by 3/1/2016.
The improvements to this intersection will include a new traffic signal (black mast arms and poles), pedestrian crossing signals, stamped asphalt crosswalks, additional sidewalk, new curb & gutter, and a new asphalt overlay in the intersection with thermoplastic pavement markings. The design effort will kick off in March 2016 with the start of survey and buried utility designation.
The 30% plans will be provided to us in May 2016. The 100% plans are scheduled to be completed by August 2016. There will likely need to be some utility relocation and property acquisition (1 parcel located on the NE corner of the intersection), but we will not know for sure until the 100% plans are complete.
If we do need utility relocation and property acquisition, this will take place between August 2016 and December 2016. Construction of these improvements is scheduled to take place starting in January 2017 and be complete by July 2017. The total project cost which includes the engineering, property acquisition, utility relocation, construction, and landscaping is estimated to be $530,000. The engineering firm that we are using is Parsons Brinckerhoff and the Construction Contractor will likely be Asphalts Roads (holder of the City’s current annual service contract for miscellaneous construction).
Photo from March 2015
Special thanks to Vice Mayor Jones and everyone else who helped improve safety on Shore Drive!
February 9th 2016 update:
Lesner Bridge Aficionados and Engineering Observers:
Through the freezing temperatures, the mixture of rain, snow and sleet, and the blustery winds blowing off the Bay that make this a true winter garden spot in the South – and with Christmas Eve with temps in the 80’s a distant memory – crews have persevered and continued to move along on the Lesner Bridge Replacement project. Exactly how and what is better explained by the project manager and a favorite of bridge groupies everywhere – Chris Wojtowicz.
So, to be really informed, keep scrolling down and read the informative update that Chris has supplied us while freezing his . . . cheeks off . . . . on the bridge project site.
Feel free to let Chris or me know if you have any questions or need more information. If you haven’t had the opportunity to watch this construction sequence animation, please check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVkeFJWm85s&feature=youtu.be
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.
Thanks again for all of your interest and patience throughout this project. Please be careful during these icy times and if you happen to be riding by the site and see Chris freezing out there, stop and pet him on the head and give him something hot to drink. He’ll be your friend for life!
Stay warm!
Drew Lankford
Media and Communications
Department of Public Works
City of Virginia Beachdlankfor@vbgov.com
(O) 757.385.8062
(C) 757.409.4353****************************************************************
Folks:
As winter begins to remake its cold presence felt, the bridge contractor is about to reach mid-span of the new westbound Lesner Bridge. But before we discuss the upcoming work, I want to mention what has been completed since the December update:
Ø Span 3 (of 10) of the new westbound Lesner Bridge was completed in early January 2016;
Ø The gantry crane has been launched to span 4 and is currently being loaded with the pre-cast concrete segments for span 4;
Ø The footings and columns for piers 5 and 6 have been completed;
Ø The footing for pier 7 has been completed;
Ø We completed segment casting for spans 5 and 6;
Ø The 36-inch storm drain that crossed Cape Henry Drive in the area located just east of Bubba’s Restaurant was installed;
Ø The mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall located along the former Duck Inn property was completed; and
Ø We completed conduit and duct installation on the east side of the bridge behind Abutment B.
Completed Spans 1, 2, and 3 of the new Westbound Lesner Bridge
The wet, cool, and windy weather is slowing our progress since we need the mating surfaces of the concrete segments to be dry and at or above 40° F in order for us to apply the water sealing epoxy prior to joining the segments together.
Wind is the other constraint that we have in operating the gantry crane and it cannot be operated when the wind is gusting above 30 MPH. Winter work next to Chesapeake Bay and over Lynnhaven Inlet has been a challenge for us these last several weeks. Span 4 of the new westbound bridge was scheduled to be completed by 1/20/2016, but the various winter weather events and the upcoming cold and windy forecast have caused that schedule to slip at least until 2/19/2016. Considering this current delay, the new westbound bridge is now expected to be complete by August 2016, and the traffic switch moved to the new bridge sometime in September 2016. The contractor is now making Saturdays and some Sundays regular work days in an effort to make up some of this lost schedule.
Completed Column and Footing for Piers 4 (background), 5 (formwork still attached), and 6 (foreground)
Although critical construction work has slowed on the bridge superstructure, other non-critical work on the bridge substructure continues. The steel reinforcement for pier column 7 has been tied is being readied for placement on the recently completed footing. The column formwork has been removed from pier column 5 and will be moved to pier 7 to form up the new column.
At the same time, all of the epoxy coating on the completed footing at pier 9 has been applied and all of the shoring removed and re-installed at pier 8. Excavation for the footing at pier 8 continues and will be completed this week. By 2/12/2016, we expect to have the column for pier 7 fully formed and the footing for pier 8 excavated, the drilled shaft foundations cut down to plan elevations, and footing formwork installed.
Typical segments being positioned at Pier Column 4
We are also aware of several potholes that have formed on the east side of the bridge along the westbound lanes between the bridge and Page Avenue. We expect to have them filled before the end of the week. Many of you have also phoned and emailed about our construction camera being down. For a variety of reasons, this camera has been offline more often than not. The camera is working now and we hope that we have corrected the operating issues.
We have also installed a second camera on the east side of the inlet to better document our work as the bridge construction continues to progress to the east side of the inlet. This second camera is available from the same internet link as the original one provided at http://www.vbgov.com/lesner-bridge.com If this link does not work, please try http://www.workzonecam.com/projects/rshcs Thank you all for alerting us to this issue.
Utility conduits being installed inside the westbound Lesner Bridge
Utility installation inside the completed bridge spans has also begun. This work will continue and will be timed such that as the last span of the bridge is completed, the internal utility installation will also be near completion. This work is critical in relocating the various utilities from the existing bridges to the new westbound bridge within an acceptable timeframe so as to not delay the start of the old bridge demolition and new eastbound bridge construction.
AMI, Inc. in Portsmouth, continues to build the new westbound bridge segments. A total of 115 of the 168 bridge segments have been cast.
**A word of driver caution: As we deliver the segments to the project site or to the gantry, Virginia Beach Police will temporarily stop traffic at the Shore Drive/East Stratford Street Intersection for a few minutes to assist the segment delivery trucks in safely crossing this intersection. These deliveries are not on a set schedule, but will generally occur between the hours of 9:00 AM and 3:00 pm M-F and on some Saturdays, so please be careful as you approach this intersection.**
Over the next two weeks, the bridge contractor will:
Ø Deliver and load the gantry with the remaining span 4 bridge segments
Ø Install the temporary post-tensioning bars and epoxy the span 4 segments
Ø Install and post-tension the permanent tendons through the bridge segments in span 4 of 10 of the westbound bridge
Ø Form and place the concrete in the column for Pier #7
Ø Form and place the concrete in the footing for Pier #8
Ø Install various utilities inside the completed sections of the westbound bridge
Ø Install the new storm drain structures along East Stratford Street on the north side of Shore Drive.
That’s it for now. Please drive safely!
– 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
An inter-office memorandum prepared Friday by Public Works Director Phil Davenport at City Manager Dave Hansen’s request produced a rough estimate of $48.6 million to design and construct a 140,000-square-foot City Hall at Town Center. Alternatively, the city could have a private firm design, construct and own the building, and lease it back to the city at a cost of about $3.99 million annually, according to the memo.
Not much has changed in the 70 years since it opened. Cooks use the same saute pans and pots seasoned with years of use. In the dining room, the floor is covered by the same cream-and-red checkered tiles. Rows of chrome-and-red Formica tables fill the pinewood-paneled dining room.
#WeLoveShoreDrive 