VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Residents say that when Pungo Ferry Road floods, it's a long detour to get around and cross the North Landing River.
In addition to the fact that the road floods a lot, residents say it's dangerous. Cars don't have room to pull off if they're in an emergency, and if they do, they could sink into swamp land.
As a result, around $19 million in federal funds will go towards fixing the flood issues on the road.
Watch: VB Council allocates $10M ARPA funding to flooding, food insecurity
“As severe weather events become more common, we’re glad to see this funding further shore up resilience efforts to protect residents, assist with evacuations and address the frustration of flooded roads," the Senators published in a statement.
The plan is to raise the one-and-half miles of roadway to make it passable during major storm events. The new road will include better paving and bike paths.
Watch: Norfolk holds open house for flood mitigation planning
Virginia's Tidewater and Chesapeake Region will also receive another portion of funding. Around $5 million will go towards a weather and traffic monitoring system. This will assist with emergency evacuations during extreme weather.
Both of these projects were federally funded through the PROTECT grant. This is a grant program that provides funding to make sure transportation is protected from natural hazards like flooding and other extreme weather events.
