THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 14, 1995 TAG: 9505130089
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
A long-awaited hurricane protection project would include 10 permanent crosswalks over a rejuvenated North End dune system from 58th to 89th streets at the oceanfront, resort planners were told Thursday.
Like the rest of the $100 million undertaking, the construction of the walkways depends on the willingness of a budget-cutting Congress to ante up the federal government's 65-percent share of the cost.
Architect Jack Kennedy, who heads the planning for the project for the Army Corps of Engineers, told members of the Resort Area Advisory Commission that planning funds are available, but construction funds are not.
Should Congress decide to fully fund its share of the cost, the North End dune line - cross walks included - would be part of the construction.
That part of the project probably would come later, said Kennedy. Army engineers actually would start with the building of three drainage pumping stations, designed to flush storm water from the resort and adjoining oceanfront residential areas.
Once the pumping stations are in place, said Kennedy, building would continue in phases that include the laying of drainage pipes, building a seawall and expanded Boardwalk, building a new bulkhead from 40th to 57th streets, a major beach and dune replenishment and the the addition of the dune crosswalks.
The hurricane protection plan, which has been in the conception stage for 25 years, has undergone several recent changes.
One involves the addition of Oceanfront pumping stations to help the resort and North End drainage systems move storm water out to sea.
The Corps of Engineers, which originally recommended a gravity system, says the city will have to bear the additional cost of the expensive item.
A second change involves the realignment of the seawall from Rudee Inlet to 40th Street. Basically the seawall would be moved slightly closer to the sea and straightened, said Kennedy.
City officials and Army Corps engineers hope to get the project under way within the next two years - even with minimal government cash outlays in the early stages.
Work would take place over a period of two years or more and could disrupt business along the resort strip.
However, the final product is designed to protect the resort and North End residential oceanfront from the ravages of a major sea-borne storm. by CNB