SUFFOLK, Va. — Residents across Suffolk are seeing more cars, more development, and more traffic backups as the city experiences rapid growth.
According to the U.S. Census, Suffolk’s population has grown by almost 10,000 residents from 2020 to 2024, a 9.2 percent increase.
Along Nansemond Parkway, trains make the backups even worse, and neighbors say they are still waiting for solutions from the city. Thomas Rein lives in Suffolk Meadows, off of Nansemond Parkway.
"This has been an ongoing issue in many places in Suffolk," Rein said.
Even on a normal day, Rein says traffic along the parkway is constant, but when a train comes by, it backs things up on both sides. He says many drivers try to avoid the wait by cutting through side streets to get to Shoulders Hill Road.
"They don’t want to wait so they look for any way to get through. We get traffic again coming through here all-day long 'cause this happens I'd say conservatively six to eight times a day, during the daylight hours," Rein said.
I reached out to the city about possible solutions. Officials referred me to the Suffolk Public Works Capital Improvement Program dashboard that shows the proposed North Suffolk Connector.
It is a 1.6-mile road meant to link Nansemond Parkway and Shoulders Hill Road and bypass the rail crossings, helping traffic move better between North Suffolk and downtown. That proposal was submitted in 2016 and 2018 but did not receive funding. It is now under review for possible resubmission.
Across Suffolk, others are feeling the pressure too. Chuck Rowley, who lives on Bridge Road near the Godwin Bridge, says traffic is picking up constantly.
On Bridge Road, the road narrows from four lanes to two approaching the Godwin Bridge, and Rowley says incidents can back up traffic for hours.
"You kind of notice that out here routinely and then when you have an incident it just becomes unbearable," Rowley said.
According to the Suffolk Capital Improvement Plan, the closest project to Rowley’s home is a realignment of the intersection of Crittenden Road and Bridge Road with Clubhouse Drive, on the other side of the Godwin Bridge. This project creates a new four-way signalized intersection with improved turn lanes, drainage, and sidewalk improvements.
While this project will not directly impact Rowley’s section of Bridge Road, it is part of the broader effort to address congestion across the city.
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