Improvements to Virginia Beach Boulevard in Norfolk intended to relieve congestion

FILE – This Dec. 12, 2018, file photo shows traffic on the Hollywood Freeway in Los Angeles. President Donald Trump’s is expected to mark a win in his two-year fight to gut one of the United States’ single-biggest efforts against climate change, relaxing ambitious Obama-era vehicle mileage standards and raising the ceiling on damaging fossil fuel emissions for years to come. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Posted: Jun 18, 2020 / 10:17 PM EDT

Updated: Jun 18, 2020 / 10:17 PM EDT

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Norfolk’s first SMART SCALE Project construction is starting along Virginia Beach Boulevard at Newtown Road.

The city says the project is about 0.3 miles in length and expands the capacity of Virginia Beach Boulevard from four to six lanes “in a critical segment that connects an eight-lane section in Norfolk and a six-lane section in Virginia Beach.”

The project costs $3.5 million and will remove portions of the outdated high-trafficked highway that present operational and safety challenges. The section is along Virginia Beach Boulevard between Clarence Street and Newtown Road.

The new cross-section, the city says, will also widen the median, improve drainage and add sidewalks and planting strips.

Intersection improvements are expected to occur at the Newtown Road intersection to relieve congestion and add pedestrian crossings for safety.

Officials said the first phase of temporary traffic control will begin this June with the closure of the feeder lane.

All construction along Virginia Beach Boulevard is expected to be completed in summer 2021.