DATE: Thursday, March 27, 1997              TAG: 9703270387

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   69 lines

SHORE DRIVE'S BRIDGE OF FUTURE GETS GOOD REVIEWS FROM RESIDENTS

Residents on Wednesday got a glimpse of a new bridge on Shore Drive that will carry them - literally - into what many hope will be a transformed East Ocean View of the 21st century.

The $8 million, four-lane bridge - outfitted with brick sidewalks and bike lanes - will replace a deteriorating, low-slung span built in 1929 over Pretty Lake.

And it will serve as a gateway into the 90 acres in East Ocean View that Norfolk is in the process of buying and razing to redevelop into a planned bayside community with homes priced from $80,000 to $500,000.

For the most part, residents gave the bridge rave reviews as they eyed blueprints and design plans unveiled by the state Department of Transportation during a four-hour public viewing at the East Ocean View Recreation Center.

``I'm excited about it,'' said Rhetta Baum, who lives on nearby Tidal Road in Camellia Gardens. ``I just wish they'd done it about five years ago.''

``I think it's just a start and part of the growth opportunities that are happening in East Ocean View that'll benefit everybody,'' said Sandra Miller, who lives in the nearby Bay Point condominiums. ``We feel we took a chance on East Ocean View, and now things are happening and we feel like it's going to be a real improvement. We're happy.''

Construction of the half-mile project is expected to begin in summer 1998 and should be finished by the year 2000. The federal government is paying 80 percent of the cost, with the state chipping in 18 percent and the city 2 percent.

Many residents said they expect surrounding property values to increase because the new bridge will be taller than the existing bridge, opening up greater boat access to Chesapeake Bay through Little Creek Inlet. The existing bridge is six feet above the water, while the new bridge, as now proposed, would have a 20-foot clearance.

Baum's grandson, Robert Morrison, recounted how their 20-foot Wellcraft boat once got stuck under the bridge at high tide.

``We had about a half-inch clearance, and we had to hand pull ourselves through,'' he said.

``We think the opportunity for people to purchase homes and to put in boat docks will start a surge of property construction and reconstruction,'' said James Janata, an East Ocean View community activist. Janata said the new bridge will create access to the larger recreational sportfishing vessels that operate out of nearby marinas.

Baum joked: ``The city's going to profit right away because we're going to buy bigger boats - they'll get those taxes.''

But not everyone is satisfied with the plans. Charles N. Cooper, who owns a nearby mobile home park, said the span should be at least 26 feet tall because most sailboats can't pass under 20 feet.

``If we're going to spend this much money, we should go a few feet higher,'' Cooper said. ``Ocean View has waited so long to come alive that this is a short-sighted savings.''

But increasing the height could cause other problems, officials said. Raising the bridge's elevation meant extending its length, which put four businesses and two apartment buildings in its path. Those structures will be bought and demolished; building the bridge even higher would have meant destroying other private structures.

The 20-foot height is ``pretty much set at this point,'' said Leo H. Rutledge, an urban programs engineer with the transportation department.

Some business owners also worry about the impact. Hardy Everett, owner of Auto Bath car wash, said plans to install a center median will reduce access to his business.

``I wouldn't build a new car wash there today,'' he said. ``How much is a business supposed to absorb until you say, `I give up, you won?' '' ILLUSTRATION: Map

East Ocean View Proposed new bridge KEYWORDS: SHORE DRIVE BRIDGE

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