Norfolk will demolish aging Ocean View flyover bridge after new intersection opens at Willoughby Spit

Norfolk — Four years after it was briefly closed due to poor condition — and then reopened for lighter vehicles — the West Ocean View Avenue flyover bridge will be gone for good later this month.

In its place, a brand-new ground-level intersection will connect Willoughby Spit to Ocean View.

In 2016, inspectors flagged potential structural problems with the one-lane flyover bridge, which was built in 1958. Citing safety concerns and with just two weeks notice, the city closed the bridge, the only straight shot from Willoughby Spit to Ocean View, that July.

After much consternation and heartburn from locals, officials reopened the bridge to light vehicles a few weeks later. The plan to remove the decrepit bridge and replace it with a regular signal-controlled intersection has been floating around since then.

Now, the road work is set to wrap up, and the bridge is set to close to cars for good on July 15.

[ Previous coverage: Ocean View flyover will likely close to cars in 2018 but could have second life ]

The city’s plan had long called for the flyover to be torn down, but some residents had pushed to keep it up as a pedestrian-only bridge, or perhaps an elevated park akin to New York’s High Line, on a much smaller scale.

Councilwoman Andria McClellan, who represents the area, said she liked the idea.

But Norfolk officials determined it would have been too expensive to safely keep the bridge open, even just for pedestrians, city spokeswoman Lori Crouch said Wednesday. She said the new intersection “was designed with pedestrian and cyclist safety as a top priority.”

The bridge will be demolished between July 21 and 26.

Staff writer Eric Hartley contributed to this report.

Ryan Murphy, 757-739-8582, ryan.murphy@pilotonline.com