VIRGINIA BEACH — An $18 million road improvement project decades in the making has finally begun in the Rudee Inlet area, but it’s causing headaches for business owners in the thick of their busy season.
A block of Winston Salem Avenue is closed between Baltic and Mediterranean avenues, leading to confusion among drivers trying to access businesses at either end of the street.
“In the first hour, we had 10 cars stacked up,” said Carter Turpin, owner of Rudee’s Restaurant. He and others have asked the city to add more detour signs so drivers can adjust before they have to make a U-turn or get trapped in a restaurant’s valet system.
Winston Salem Avenue runs alongside the Rudee Inlet marina district, stretching from Pacific to Mediterranean avenues. It’s a short, busy stretch of road used by locals and tourists and is home to a fishing center, marinas, restaurants, water sport rental companies and private residences.
Businesses remain open during the construction, and operators hope customers won’t mind the extra effort to reach them.
“The clock’s ticking,” said Tim Oswald, manager of Rudee’s. “We only have so many weekends in the summer.”
Improvements will make the corridor more accessible, safer and attractive, according to the city. The work will include undergrounding utilities, upgrading storm water drainage, designating on-street parking, widening sidewalks and adding lights. Construction is expected to take 2½ years with the bulk of the work taking place during the offseasons.
Years ago, city planners tossed around the idea of creating an elaborate “marina walk” on Winston Salem Avenue where pedestrians could meander along the waterfront, but those plans didn’t make the final cut.
Money was appropriated for the road improvement project more than a decade ago but was delayed several times.
In 2020, the City Council moved funds from the Winston Salem project into a reserve for revenue shortfalls from the pandemic, halting its progress. The following year, the money was released, and the design was completed in 2022. But it was put on hold again as costs increased and construction bids came in $5 million higher than budgeted.
This spring, after hearing support from Shadowlawn residents who use the road to reach area restaurants and the beach, the City Council agreed to appropriate $4.6 million from the Tourism Investment Program fund to cover the cost increase and finally break ground before the price rose again.
But the decision came with the caveat that construction would begin this summer.
“It was lose it or take it in July and just bite the bullet,” Turpin said.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
