Colonial Parkway to Reopen Next Week

By Amber Lester Kennedy Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Repairs to the Colonial Parkway following a water main burst are complete.

The National Park Service plans to reopen the Parkway between Route 199/Cheatham Annex and Parkway Drive at noon on Feb. 22.

The stretch of road near Hubbard Lane has been closed since Jan. 4, when a 42-inch water main operated by Newport News Waterworks began to leak. The National Park Service closed the road because of concerns about icing and clearing the road for repairs, which involved breaching all three lanes of the roadway.

Newport News Waterworks’ contractors had to repair the road using the Parkway’s characteristic exposed aggregate concrete rather than asphalt, which delayed the work. Pembroke Construction was contracted to reconstruct 53 feet of the Parkway.

“We appreciate the quick response and cooperation of both Newport News Waterworks and Pembroke Construction in fixing the leak and repairing the parkway,” said Dan Smith, superintendent of the Colonial National Historical Park, in a press release. “The safety of the public is our paramount concern, and crews from Waterworks were on scene shortly after the problem was discovered.”

The Parkway, originally constructed between 1931 and 1957, stretches 23 miles between Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown. A separate long-term project to rehabilitate its bridges and access roads is ongoing. The project does not require road closures, but travelers should be alert for flaggers and work zones. The project began in May 2009 and is scheduled for completion in June 2011.