DATE: Monday, August 11, 1997               TAG: 9708110051

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LIZ SZABO, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   53 lines

REBUILT OVERPASS TO OPEN THURSDAY

Traffic in and out of South Norfolk will soon be back to normal.

The Southgate Overpass, which has been closed for construction for five months, will be re-opened to traffic Thursday, said Thomas H. Westbrook, assistant director of public works. The overpass connects South Norfolk to the rest of Chesapeake via Bainbridge Boulevard.

The 10,000 drivers who cross the 50-year-old overpass every day have had to follow a detour over local roads during the construction project, Westbrook said.

The bridge repair also has inconvenienced businesses and has kept some customers away from local stores.

The $1.1 million project was expected to be finished a week late after contractors found deteriorated concrete in the pile cap, one of the overpass supports, Westbrook said. That extra work cost $9,000, but Westbrook still expects the Southgate Overpass to come in under budget.

The construction work will make the overpass safe for large trucks, Westbrook said. Before, tractor-trailers heavier than 25 tons were not allowed on the structure, which forced truck drivers to navigate local streets on their way to the highway.

The overpass will no longer have weight limits, Westbrook said.

City officials cannot re-open the overpass fast enough for Antonio Nortesano, owner of Frank's Pizza in the Southgate Plaza, north of the overpass.

``Business should be better when they open up. That's for sure,'' Nortesano said. ``It's been a hard time. Business has been slow; I don't know if it's the economy or what. But a lot of people don't know their way around (the detour), so they just don't come.''

Family Dollar store in the same shopping center has lost business as well.

``It's decreased business a lot,'' said Family Dollar employee Jason Looper.

``A lot of people who live on the other side of the bridge just don't come here. They don't want to have to drive around.''

Not everyone, however, has stayed away from the shopping center.

Drivers looking to shave a few minutes off their trips have been cutting through the parking lot.

``Some people race through here,'' Looper said. ``How dangerous it is depends on how they drive.''

Faye Allen's regular customers have stuck by her.

Still, the owner of Affordable Cuts on Bainbridge Boulevard said the construction has given her customers headaches.

``Any time you want to go across Bainbridge you have to drive all the way around,'' Allen said. ``Any time I try to give someone directions from out of town, I have to route them through the neighborhoods, and they get lost.'' ILLUSTRATION: VP MAP

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