THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602090147
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
If you talked to folks like Irene Eason and Thelma Hicks, you'd soon enough learn about the ``dip'' that lays and waits for unsuspecting motorists in their neighborhood.
Tall and lumpy, dangerous and potentially deadly, the ``dip'' has been a safety hazard that residents living near the intersection of Nansemond Parkway and Sleepy Hole Road have complained about for years.
The dip, a high elevation in Nansemond Parkway, has contributed to more than a few wrecks over the years. Sort of like a hill, the dip occurred after the railroad tracks on Nansemond Parkway became city property. The grade crossing for the railroad tracks is 12 inches high, but drops abruptly back down to roadway level on both sides.
Residents living near the railroad tracks say backing out of their yards is dangerous, because they can't see if other cars are coming towards them. Once on the road, crossing over the hill is another risk, they say, because you don't know who or what is meeting you.
``A lot of trucks come by here and when they hit that hill, they fly off,'' said Hicks, whose lived near the hill for more than 40 years. ``People have a lot of problems seeing, and those trucks coming down are a real danger. You have to inch out of your yard slowly.''
That's why the city has been after the Virginia Department of Transportation to level the road to make it safer. The transportation department has finally agreed, and the city council voted unanimously Wednesday night to close Nansemond Parkway for about 60 days to do the work.
Construction is set to begin sometime in March.
Thomas G. Hines, director of public works, said the project, which is being funded by the state transportation department, will cost about $180,000.
Traffic will be re-routed around the railroad tracks to King's Highway.
Albertha Everett, who also lives on Nansemond Parkway, said the construction won't bother her in the least, especially when she thinks about the benefits.
``I'm just excited that they are fixing it,'' Everett said. ``It's about time.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Residents who live near the high elevation in Nansemond Parkway have
complained for years that the ``dip'' is a safety hazard.
DETOUR FOR REPAIRS
Nansemond Parkway at ``the dip'' will be closed about 60 days,
beginning in March.
Traffic will be re-routed around the railroad tracks to King's
Highway.
The project, funded by the state, will cost about $180,000.
by CNB