Laskin sewer line now in final phase

During the past 16 months, motorists may have grown accustomed to the lane closures that have popped up along a nearly three-mile section of Laskin Road.

The area extending from Great Neck Road to Fremac Drive has undergone a sewer pipe replacement project, which is in the final phase.

Last week, work crews started the final part of restoring the surface of the far right, westbound lane of Laskin Road near the Regency Hilltop Shopping Center, said Warren Wilczynski, the assistant project manager who is overseeing the construction for the Hampton Roads Sanitation District.

The work schedule calls for lane closures in this area until July 22, when the pavement restoration is expected to conclude.

In the coming weeks, drivers will see lane closures and detours marked by signs and other traffic control devices. Traffic will also be reduced to a single westbound lane, from

Hilltop Road to Bratten Avenue, near Captain George’s Seafood Restaurant.

The service road and access to shopping centers along the route will remain open, Wilczynski said.

“It’s pretty much finishing up,” Wilczynski said. “It’s the last of the major construction.”

In March 2010, the HRSD began the task of replacing sewer pipes along the 2.7-mile stretch of roadway. The pipes transfer collected sewage to the HRSD Atlantic treatment plant. Twenty-four-inch sewer pipes installed in 1965 were replaced with larger 42-inch pipes.

The project was originally scheduled to conclude in June, but Wilczynski said unexpected delays during construction pushed back the completion date.

Earlier this week, work began at the intersection of Laskin Road and Regency Drive, which was temporarily closed as construction crews replaced existing asphalt with concrete pavement.

Metal plates will temporarily be installed over the concrete so the road can reopen to traffic. The plates will be removed after the concrete is fully cured, which could take up to three days.

New concrete will also be installed at the Laskin Road entrance to Regency Hilltop Shopping Center.

“When the pipeline was installed originally, asphalt was placed in the lane temporarily,” Wilczynski said. “Now that the pipeline is functional, they’ll go in and put concrete in the lane.”

For more information about the Laskin Road pipeline replacement project, visit the Hampton Roads Sanitation District website, www.hrsd.com, or call 460-7056.