Plans discussed for extending MLK freeway in Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH

The ramp that runs past Calvary Baptist Church comes close enough to the sanctuary that the Rev. Philip Parker can hear the murmur of cars and trucks from the altar.

He's used to that. For years, that ramp has fed traffic from London Boulevard to the Midtown Tunnel, past Parker's near century-old Gothic Revival church.

What concerns him is whether the amount of ramp traffic will change if the Martin Luther King Freeway is extended to Interstate 264.

Pushing that freeway through what are today worn-out local roads and an industrial zone would give motorists another north-south option through Portsmouth - and that often means more traffic.

"If a truck coming along lost its balance, it could flip onto the property, maybe even the church itself," Parker said. "That's one of our worries."

Concerns such as his are why the Virginia Department of Transportation hosted a public meeting at I.C. Norcom High School on Wednesday. Engineers wanted to hear from local residents about plans to build the $195 million project that is part of the long-planned new Midtown Tunnel.

Several dozen residents walked through the cafeteria looking at computer images of the proposed freeway. They showed one unexpected feature: the extension of the MLK will be an elevated one, rising from 18 to 30 feet above the ground.

VDOT engineers are proposing to lessen the amount of property that would be taken if the freeway were on the ground and to ease the amount of truck traffic now in neighborhoods.

"The main point of this is to get the truck traffic off local streets," said Nick Nies, VDOT's environmental study manager.

But the freeway would carry costs.

The concept calls for three possible street closures, plus two ramps along I-264. The streets would be MacArthur Avenue, King Street and County Street all at Harbor Drive, over which the freeway would run.

Along I-264, the exit ramp at Des Moines Avenue and the South Street entrance to the interstate would be closed to accommodate a new interchange on the interstate. Those two options raised concern among some companies over restrictions to their plants. VDOT said it would study the concerns.

Altogether, the project could claim 18 homes owned by families that live in them, two other houses that are occupied by renters, and seven businesses, VDOT said.

There are 12 churches within the project area, and one pastor, Texie McDougal, of Paradise Soul's church, said he was happy at the prospect of fewer trucks.

"If they got the big trucks out of the neighborhoods, that would be a great thing," he said.

VDOT said it will pursue the project on an aggressive time schedule. A final environmental assessment is due in August. VDOT hopes to begin construction in the summer of 2010.

Tom Holden, (757) 446-2331, tom.holden@pilotonline.com