CHESAPEAKE, Va. — If you drive George Washington Highway with regularity, you may hit quite a lot of road work once you meet the interchange with Old Mill Road in Chesapeake, and attempt to cross the water.
That work is because of the Deep Creek Bridge Replacement Project. Construction started in 2023, and instead of the City of Chesapeake working on it, it’s actually being constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
This portion of the creek is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, which allows boats to go up and down the East Coast without going in open water.
“Part of that with the waterway, the corps of engineers also manages all the crossings that go along the east coast, so deep creek here is one of those crossings,” said Phillip Abbott with the Corps of Engineers.
Watch previous coverage: Traffic congestion builds up around Deep Creek Bridge project
Abbott says the original bridge here was built more than 90 years ago.
Now, it’s not only being replaced, but being made bigger, to allow for the growing number of cars driving through the region. Every day, around 30,000 vehicles use the intersection.
“We got approved for funding to construct and replace it from a 2 lane to a five lane drawbridge,” Abbott told News 3.
There were a couple of days, primarily because of soft soil around the construction area. Part of the project allowed for the Corps Of Engineers to fix problems like this, so they don’t just affect this project but future projects in the area.
“Solving that problem now will prevent us from doing a lane closure or a roadway closure impacting the traffic. So we want to maximize the life of the roadway as much as possible,” Abbott said.
A lot of progress has been made in the last few months, though.
When News 3 took a look at drone shots from September of 2024 and compared them to shots taken in April of 2025, we could see the drawbridge is now up, the concrete has been poured, and the bridge tenders house is built. If things stay on schedule, Abbott says they should be able to move traffic on it this year.
