VDOT offers $1.5 million incentive to speed up Laskin Road widening in Virginia Beach
VIRGINIA BEACH — State transportation officials are providing a $1.5 million incentive to speed up the Laskin Road improvements, a project taking longer than expected and creating countless headaches for residents and business owners.
Virginia Department of Transportation is widening the road to an eight-lane divided highway with sidewalks and replacing the 1938 Laskin Road bridge. The work, which included removing the notorious feeder lanes, began in 2019 and originally was to be completed last year.
“This has been a very difficult project for a lot of folks recognizing we’ve been out there a lot longer than originally anticipated,” Chris Hall, VDOT engineer, told the City Council Tuesday. “We’re very near the finish line.”
Soil conditions and utility conflicts have set the 2-mile project timeline back, he said.
Some of the heaviest parts of the construction took a toll on businesses already sidelined by the pandemic. To reduce impacts, VDOT is offering a financial incentive to the contractor if work in the Hilltop shopping area is completed before the holiday season, Hall said. The accelerated incentive portion includes the western edge from Republic Road to Hilltop North and along First Colonial from Laurel Lane to Interstate 264.
“VDOT is trying to push them along,” said Councilman Worth Remick, who met on-site with representatives of the transportation department and the contractor this spring after residents of a condominium complex expressed concerns about access to their building.
The total project cost is roughly $150 million, of which the city is funding $42.7 million. Allan Myers, Inc. of Pennsylvania is the contractor.
VDOT will pay $1.5 million to the contractor if the work in the incentivized sections is completed by Nov. 1. After Nov. 1, this amount will be reduced by a little over $65,000 for each day that the work is not completed until Nov. 24, according to a VDOT spokesperson. The incentive is being funded through the project’s overall construction budget.
Laskin Road, part of Route 58, is heavily traveled by motorists as well as pedestrians and cyclists. A 10-foot-wide shared-use path is being built along the north side of the road, and a 5-foot-wide sidewalk will be built along the south side. The outside lane is wide enough to accommodate bikes, according to VDOT.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
Laskin Road bridge replacement and widening project
Work to be completed by November:
Roadway, median, curb and gutter
Business entrances, storm and sewer utility work and traffic signals
Remaining work to be completed by spring 2025:
Replacement of eastbound bridge over Linkhorn Bay
Eastern section of project corridor
Median lighting along project corridor
Source: Virginia Department of Transportation
