VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Residents and businesses in the Shadowlawn neighborhood celebrated Saturday as a more than two-year construction project along Winston-Salem Avenue reached completion.
The project had been in planning for more than a decade and includes wider sidewalks, improved stormwater drainage, and better accessibility between the resort area and the marina district.
“With everybody’s patience and help, we got through it, and we’re going to enjoy it for decades to come,” Virginia Beach Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson said.
Emily Archer, the city’s director of economic development, said the project was designed to improve connections between the resort and marina districts.
“Before, Winston-Salem didn’t have continuous sidewalks or overhead utility lines, so this was really a rehabilitation effort to connect the resort to the marina district,” Archer said. “So it’s not just easier to drive but to walk and bike to.”
The improvements are also being praised by neighborhood leaders for making the area safer for pedestrians, including families walking to the beach.
“There’s hundreds of people every day that go to the beach, and the sidewalks before were 20 inches wide, and now they are 5 feet and 9 feet,” said Blake Roberson, president of the Shadowlawn Civic League. “Between the neighbors and the children going to the beach and then just tourists coming to the community to get on boats and to go to restaurants, there wasn’t much room, and now it’s much safer for the community.”
Wilson said the improvements are also helping attract new businesses to the area, including Kelly’s Tavern and Fisherman’s Wharf Market.
The completion marks the end of more than two years of construction on Winston-Salem Avenue.
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