VIRGINIA BEACH — Contractors will soon move a huge crane near the westbound Lesner Bridge and it will cause parts of Shore Drive to temporarily close this summer.
The contractor has to move the multi-million dollar gantry crane from its current location, north of the new westbound bridge, across Shore Drive to a new position to construct the new bridge, according to a memorandum Public Works director Phil Davenport sent to Mayor Will Sessoms and city council last week.
Moving this crane would cause the areas of Shore Drive near the Lesner Bridge to close for a few days for four to six hours at night sometime after mid-May. The closures would likely happen between Sunday and Wednesday. Additionally, single lane closures could follow for a couple days after, according to the memorandum.
Davenport said once a detour plan is approved, it will be advertised to the public well before the road closures occur, but emergency vehicles will still have access to the closed road.
Public Works looked into disassembling the crane to avoid a road closure, but Davenport said the associated costs, schedule impacts, construction feasibility and safety issues with nearby high-powered transmission lines outweighed the benefit.
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