VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Construction to replace a deteriorating storm culvert has closed part of South Boulevard near Mount Trashmore, forcing people traveling to South Plaza Trail to take an alternate route.
The closure began Monday after the city discovered a culvert beneath South Boulevard was in worse condition than originally believed.
Although the Kids Cove parking lot appeared unusually empty on a summer day, families were still visiting the popular playground, with many walking farther than usual to reach it.
"It was a little hot, but it was good," said Allison Fletcher, who visited the park with her family.
Fletcher said seeing the parking lot nearly empty was unusual.
"It is because normally it'd be packed," she said.
The road closure had turned vehicles around on Edwin Drive while crews replaced the storm culvert beneath South Boulevard, leaving the normally filled parking lot empty.
"We received a concern about a cave-in. We started investigating it, and we discovered that the pipe under South Boulevard was in worse shape than we anticipated," said Jonas Alered with Virginia Beach Public Works. "That required us to repair it, and the way we have to repair it is to replace the existing culvert."
Alered said the pipe connects to the lake where the recently completed Windsor Woods Tide Gate Project was constructed. However, he said the culvert replacement is a separate maintenance project.
City officials said replacing the aging culvert now will help prevent a more serious failure in the future.
"We're trying to prevent a major cave-in where the pipe could collapse, and something could fall into it. That would be the worst-case scenario," Alered said.
While the closure initially prevented drivers from cutting through Mount Trashmore to reach the Kids Cove parking lot, the closing shifted to make sure the Kids Cove lot is open to visitors.
"You should be able to access this lot over here. It's just beyond this point where we are having the hard closure," Alered said.
The project is expected to be completed by Sept. 18.
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