CHESAPEAKE, Va - Starting Sunday, the Rt. 168 Bypass Bridge in Chesapeake will only be open to one lane of southbound traffic.
The city is hoping the project will be done by Memorial Day weekend, but it's not stopping some drivers from feeling frustrated at the present moment.
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"My commute has gone from 20 minutes to about an hour and a half now," said Dorian Hubbard, a Chesapeake driver said.
Hubbard is a teacher in Chesapeake and says his commute has been a hassle.
"I’ve been late to school a couple of times this week," Hubbard said.
He says he has to leave an hour earlier.
"I’m coming from Moyock to Chesapeake," Hubbard said.
Earl Sorey, with the public works department, says crews will be working around the clock to fix the bridge after a vessel struck it.
"They will start their work Sunday afternoon. They are bringing in enough crews to work 24 hours a day," Sorey said.
But there is some good news for drivers on Memorial Day weekend.
"It won’t be down to one lane on memorial day weekend," Sorey said. "We’ll have a hard stop at noon on Friday on memorial day weekend. We’ll go back to two lanes of traffic across the bridge."
He said construction on the bridge will start back after the Memorial Day weekend if there is still more work to be done. Current Construction may cause delays to drivers headed to the Outer Banks.
The city says there will be restricted bridge openings at Great Bridge to alleviate traffic, which also serves as an alternate route.
