An unwelcome news item of the past week was the Virginian Pilot report that the US Corps of Engineers was looking at the proposed Southeastern Parkway with a negative point of view. The Corps complaints dealt with the number of acres of wetlands that would be displaced. In addition they doubted that the new road would eliminate enough traffic from current highways to justify the project.
Such criticism of this desperately needed road is truly hard to comprehend. There can be no doubt that sufficient wetlands can be created to offset those lost to the parkway. A perfect place for the new swamps would be as a buffer zone surrounding Oceana Master Jet Base in Virginia Beach and Fentress Air Field in Chesapeake. Let the environmental requirements solve a dual purpose in satisfying Navy requirements. Look to the rural acreage whose developmental rights have been purchased by the city. The owners of this land might be happy to find a willing bidder for their property.
Anyone who takes the position that the Southeastern Parkway is not needed has never driven Lynnhaven Parkway and Indian River Road at 5:00 in the afternoon. Let the Corps of Engineers planners drive from Lynnhaven Mall to the I-64/Indian River Road intersection every work day for a month to teach them a lesson in reality. Follow that up with a drive down I-64 from the I-264 intersection to Dominion Boulevard at that same time of day for a month. Then let them speak to the need for this project.
Bureaucrats with a narrow focus should not be allowed to stall Southeastern Parkway plans. For once let them think outside the box, and then gingerly step outside the box to follow the multitudes. The longer construction is postponed, the greater the cost will be to Virginia taxpayers.