VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A section of Elbow Road reopened Thursday ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, restoring a key connection between Virginia Beach and Chesapeake after months of closure.
The spillway section of Elbow Road, which links drivers between the two cities, had been closed since October for the Elbow Road Bridge replacement project.
“I’ve been waiting for this to reopen again, so definitely looking forward to it,” said P.J. Crisostomo, a Virginia Beach resident.
Crisostomo said the closure made travel more difficult, especially for drivers heading to Chesapeake.
“Anytime you need to go to Chesapeake, obviously that’s the way that we have to take because of the detour, and it feels like it takes forever because you’re driving through residential areas,” he said.
The city of Chesapeake announced the Elbow Road Bridge replacement project wrapped up about six weeks ahead of schedule, allowing the road to reopen to traffic before the holiday weekend.
Lane closures will still happen periodically as construction ends.
Drivers using the reopened stretch will notice a new bridge, extended guardrails for safety and a renewed roadway replacing the pothole-ridden section that had been there before.
Construction is still ongoing on the Virginia Beach side of the project. Trees have been removed and drivers can now see through to the other side of Indian River Road, where Elbow Road will eventually connect.
As of the start of summer, work on the Virginia Beach portion of the Elbow Road project was 43% complete, with work continuing on a new bridge.
“This is going to be the main pathway between Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, so all the improvements they’ve made are just going to make transportation and getting from point A to point B a lot easier,” Crisostomo said.
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