SUFFOLK, Va. — New US Route 58 flyover ramp opens in Suffolk, improving landfill access and safety for drivers heading to the regional landfill.
The new flyover ramp makes it easier and safer for people driving east on Route 58 to get to the other side of the road where the regional landfill is located. Before the ramp opened, drivers had to cross the Route 58 median to enter the landfill, often dealing with speeding traffic and long delays.
Stanley Bowen visits the landfill a few times a year and said the old access was a problem.
"It was terrible, sometimes you had to wait 15 minutes to get to that landfill," Bowen said.
With the new ramp, the experience is different.
"Oof, we were there in five minutes overall," Bowen said.
The new ramp is part of an interchange improvements project between the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Southeastern Public Service Authority (SPSA).
SPSA Transfer Station Manager Duane Cooper said the dangers of the old crossing were real.
"Could get halfway across and a car could be over in the farthest lane over there that they didn't see, people speeding going well above the speed limit," Cooper said.
Cooper said those concerns are now gone.
"It was really safe didn't have to worry about speeding out there or getting caught up so it was definitely a blessing," Cooper said.
The flyover is open, but crews are still wrapping up the rest of the project. VDOT says drivers should still expect occasional lane closures, and a 50-mile-per-hour speed limit continues through the construction zone.
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