VIRGINIA BEACH — For drivers who have each day for the last few years crisscrossed the construction zone known as the Lesner Bridge, there’s some good news: The end is drawing near.
The end of construction on the bridge that is.
And the countdown to November can begin. That’s when the new bridge, its four wide lanes, and the 10-foot multi-purpose path designed for pedestrians and bicyclists is expected to open to traffic.
“At this point it looks like we will move the eastbound traffic to the new bridge by the end of August 2018,” said Chris Wojtowicz, project manager. “Once we complete this traffic switch, we will move to the westbound bridge to remove the temporary concrete barriers and fencing in order to build the 10-foot wide multi-use path.”
“We are looking at total project completion by November 2018, including all street lighting and landscaping,” he added.
Wojtowicz said that since March, McLean Construction, the company doing the work on the new bridge, has completed construction of the east bound bridge substructure, including pier columns eight and nine. They have also completed spans five, six and seven of the bridge superstructure and are currently working on span eight (of 10).
The new bridge fender system, including the navigational lighting has also been completed.
At the bridge approaches on both sides, sidewalks have been placed, curb and gutter have been installed, painting of the retaining walls has been completed, and installation of the permanent hand railing is nearly complete.
He said base and intermediate asphalt pavement has been placed on the western bridge approach at East Stratford Road and the subgrade on the east side of the bridge is being prepared for upcoming paving work near Vista Circle.
Over the next couple of weeks the company will launch the gantry to span nine and install the falsework; pave the eastern bridge approach and the intersection of Shore Drive and Vista Circle; install an expansion joint at Abutment A; and continue installing bridge lighting systems.
