CHESAPEAKE, Va. - — Drivers are hopeful a new Deep Creek Bridge will improve traffic when construction of it is complete.
"It's just a pain in the tail," said former City Councilman Dwight Parker about the old bridge.
The nearly 90 year old bridge is just one lane in each direction. It's considered still safe to drive on, but functionally obsolete.
There have been talks about replacing it since the 1970s and after decades of effort the project is now closer to breaking ground.
The Army Corps of Engineers has now awarded the construction contract to build a new bridge to a Norfolk based company called Archer Western, LLC for about $60 million.
"It's long overdue. I was a teacher at Deep Creek High School for 44 years. People were complaining about it then and they're still complaining about it," said Parker. "It's a bottleneck."
Congress approved replacing the federally owned bridge in 2007, but the federal government has faced delays in acquiring all of the necessary property for a replacement.
There is still one more piece of property the federal government is in the process of acquiring, an Army Corps spokesperson said.
The new drawbridge will be five lanes, 144-feet long, and 60-feet wide.
"I feel like the widening of the bridge would definitely help," said David Robinson, who lives nearby.
While the new bridge is being built, traffic will still go on the old one, but officials warn drivers could face delays.
Construction is expected to begin in June and last for three years.
