VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A detour on a road off of Laskin Road in Virginia Beach will now be extended until this fall as contractors knock out road improvements along Fremac Drive now instead of later.
Earlier this month, Fremac Dr. was closed for crews to perform stormwater and sewer drain improvements as part of the Laskin Road Bridge Replacement and Widening Project.
To reduce additional full closures of the roadway at this location later in the project, the contractor has extended the closure through approximately fall 2024 to finish all utility improvements, tie-ins on Laskin Road, full-depth reconstruction, and permanent paving of the roadway while the full closure is in place.
Some neighbors living near the detour say it has added more chaos to the Laskin Rd. construction.
"It completely ruined my hot streak of great attendance to work. I mean, I'm late to work almost every day now," Logan O'Brien said.
O'Brien grew up in Virginia Beach and said he knows how messy Laskin can be for some drivers. But he feels this detour only leaves his neighborhood with one entrance and exit.
"I thought it was nice that I'm right by the exit, but now all the traffic from there is coming. Sometimes when I'm just getting up in the morning and I'm trying to leave for work, I'll be backed up to here for people waiting to get on to the main strip," O'Brien said.
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O'Brien said while he understands the work needs to be completed, it makes getting out onto Laskin difficult.
"Some days I get lucky and there's no traffic, which is rare," O'Brien said. "Most of the time, I'll exit my neighborhood, and I'm waiting five minutes just to go to the interstate."
VDOT says due to issues—like pre-existing soil conditions, utility conflicts, and project plan revisions—the completion of the overall Laskin project is slated for spring of 2025.
However, VDOT has reached an agreement with the contractor to expedite the completion of a key stretch of the project corridor on Laskin Rd. from Republic Rd. to the Hilltop North Shopping Center, as well as on First Colonial Rd. from Laurel Ln. to I-264, to receive a financial incentive if completed by fall 2024.
Some businesses along Laskin Rd. said since construction has started, it has made an impact on customers.
"When they started this construction right outside of our business, we noticed a decrease in sales about 10% to 15%," Christine Holley, co-owner of Wasserhund Brewing Company, said. "What they did was, they removed an entire entrance to our brewery."
The brewery is located right where some of the side roads now end.
VDOT has since extended the entrance of the shopping center to match right up to Laskin Rd., but Holley said it can still be difficult for customers to get in.
Those traveling from the Great Neck area would still need to make a U-turn into packed traffic to make their way to the brewery.
Holley said she understands the project was planned with good intentions, but feels the overall project delay impacts tourism coming from the Oceanfront.
"Businesses that people would travel to and try and see because they wanted to experience a little more of the local area—even the Hilltop area—those people aren't leaving the Oceanfront anymore," Holley said. "They'd rather stay put because when they look at Google Maps, it's yellow, it's red, it's hard to get to, it requires a U-turn."
