May 1, 2025

The Ripple Effect: Drainage Work to Close Lanes on Birdneck Road May 2-5

Here’s what drivers need to know before heading out this weekend.

Seatack Neighborhood Improvements construction

The Seatack Neighborhood Drainage Improvement Project is underway, and road closures will affect traffic traveling northbound on Birdneck Road, May 2-5.

What you need to know 

The northbound lanes of South Birdneck Road will be closed to traffic from Norfolk Avenue to the Seatack Recreation Center beginning 7 p.m. on Friday, May 2, to 9 p.m. on Monday, May 5. Detours will be in place, and crews will work 24-hour days to complete the project, weather permitting. If needed, the weekend of May 9-12 is the alternate weekend.  

Project Overview  

The Seatack Neighborhood Drainage Improvement Project is part of the Linkhorn Bay Flood Protection Program Master Project and is designed to reduce flooding in the historic Seatack neighborhood. Enlarging the stormwater pipes under Birdneck Road is necessary to get the runoff from the neighborhood on the east side of the road to the outfall on the west side of Birdneck Road.  

The project was also designed to address future resiliency in this area up to a 100-year storm with 1.5 feet of sea level rise, said Melissa Lindgren, project manager and engineer with the Virginia Beach Department of Public Works.  

In addition, a new water-quality structure will pull sediment out of the water before it is discharged into Great Neck Creek. Southbound lanes were closed for similar work last weekend. Construction is expected to wrap up by the end of 2025. 

Fast Facts 

  • Seatack is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, and Birdneck Road is one of the oldest roads in the city. This makes working in the area difficult because of the decades of buried utilities in the ground. 
  • The City received a Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF) grant from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation to help offset the costs to the overall Flood Protection Program fund. 

For more information on this and other Flood Protection Program projects, visit VirginiaBeach.gov/RippleEffect.

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