Virginia Beach, Va. (WTKR) - Traffic flow in and around the busy Virginia Beach Municipal Center is about to change.
It's all thanks to two major road projects that have been planned for decades.
Earlier this month, major work on Princess Anne Road phase IV was completed.
"It's been almost 25 years to get the project to fruition. It was needed for capacity - we've widened the road from 2 lanes to a 4 lane divided highway on 8 lanes of right of way," explained Virginia Beach Public Works Transportation Division Manager Phil Pullen.
Construction started in October 2010 and included building the new four lane divided highway on Princess Anne Road between Dam Neck Road and Nimmo Parkway.
That's a busy corridor between the Virginia Beach Farmer's Market and the Beach Municipal Center.
The median along this section of Princess Anne Road is also noticeably larger than others in the city.
That was done on purpose to allow the roadway to expand up to 8 lanes to accommodate future growth.
"It's what I like to call the 'Cadillac' of our roads. It has wide shoulders for bike lanes, it has multi-use paths on both sides," Pullen told NewsChannel 3's Todd Corillo.
The project also included the construction of a new 4-lane divided roadway to extend Nimmo Parkway between Princess Anne and Holland Roads.
The $61.4 million dollar project got a boost from federal stimulus dollars in 2009.
Right on the heels of Princess Anne Road Phase IV, is the near completion of a new section of Nimmo Parkway.
The new 1.7 miles of Nimmo Parkway between Holland Road and General Booth is now expected to be open to traffic in early to mid-August.
This $58 million project is expected to bring major traffic congestion relief when it opens, moving traffic away from the two-lanes of parallel Princess Anne Road .
The City anticipates nearly 40,000 cars will use it daily by the year 2020.
"These two urban projects together are going to make traffic work much better in this Princess Anne Corridor," Pullen stated.
