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Virginia Beach completes pedestrian improvements on Providence Road

Posted at 5:33 PM, Jan 02, 2015
and last updated 2015-01-02 17:33:39-05

Virginia Beach, Va. (WTKR) - Crews in Virginia Beach have finished work on pedestrian safety improvements along a busy section of Providence Road.

It's the same stretch of Providence Road where Daniel Taylor, 14, was hit by a car while crossing the road on the way to the bus stop on March 16, 2011.

He later died at the hospital.

"I just miss him being home all the time. How he played sports and everything. Did his homework on time," his father Clifton Taylor told NewsChannel 3's Todd Corillo on Friday.

The work wrapped up during the first week of December 2014.

The city added a new sidewalk along the north side of Providence Road from Whitehurst Landing Avenue to Matyiko Drive.

The pedestrian signal at the intersection of Providence Road and Beryl Avenue was also improved during the project.

Clifton Taylor says he thought of his son often as he watched crews install the new sidewalk.

He knows nothing will bring Daniel back, but he says the city did a good job with the improvements and he's hopeful it will mean no one else will ever have to experience his tragedy.

"I hope it will prevent from something else happening," Taylor said.

"It will give them somewhere to walk instead of trying to cross this street on both sides. As much traffic comes through here."

The project was slated for $510,000 but was completed under budget with $78,000 spent on engineering costs and about $350,000 spent on construction costs.

The funding came from VDOT's Highway Safety Improvements Program.