CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WVEC) -- Doris Evans and her husband have been living at the corner of Elbow Rd. and Indian River Rd. for almost 50 years.
“The roads are very country roads with lots of curves and ditches on both sides. It's an old, little, small road. It's two lanes, no easements on the side, no nothing. Straight down into the ditch, and it's very curvy,” Evans said.
Since 1967, she's watched the traffic get heavier and heavier on Elbow Rd.
“If there's an accident, usually the road is blocked off. You've got to sit there for an hour or turn around, if you can turn around on that narrow road I’ve had to turn around quite a few times and go back,” she said.
Chesapeake Police say there were 55 accidents on Elbow Rd. last year—some of them fatal. The majority of the problems lie at two extremely sharp curves.
“When it's raining you better take your time because you never know what will happen after the curve,” Doris said.
The City of Chesapeake has set aside more than $2 million to flatten some of the sharper curves, widen the lanes, and add shoulders.
“We also have some roadway work being done by a private developer in conjunction with their development closer to the Centreville Turnpike end, so you'll see some road widening in that area as well,” Assistant Director of Public Works Earl Sorey said.
Once phase one of the project is done, they'll work on getting the funding for phase two, which concentrates on some of the smaller curves on the road.
“We've had a number of concerns expressed over the years relative to the accident frequency here and just the narrowness of the roadway. It is a road that traffic has increased over time -- there's been additional development, but there’s also been some attractions on the Virginia Beach side too -- such as growth at TCC, and the sports complex and things of that nature,” Sorey said.
“Also they eliminated trucks the last couple of years. They made it so the trucks couldn’t drive it anymore -- so that helped it some because it's barely wide enough for two trucks to pass each other,” Doris said.
Doris is excited to see that the work is finally getting started. She's also looking forward to less traffic in that area.
“We should have a nice quiet summer because the traffic can't get through. I think most people have to go to North Landing Rd. or Kempsville Rd. to cut through.”
The Elbow Rd. Curve Realignment Project requires the full closure of Elbow Rd. between Centerville Turnpike and the Chesapeake/Virginia Beach City Line for five months starting April 1.
A detour via Centerville Turnpike, Kempsville Rd. and Indian River Rd. will be marked. Residents will continue to have access.