I-64 on-ramp at LaSalle Ave. to close during emergency repairs

HAMPTON – If you thought traffic in Hampton was trying enough, more confusion is scheduled for next month.

The Virginia Department of Transportation will close the eastbound Interstate 64 on-ramp at LaSalle Avenue at the Armistead Avenue bridge overpass for emergency repairs beginning in February and lasting through Memorial Day, VDOT spokeswoman Brittany McBride confirmed.

The auxiliary (merging) lane will also remain closed during the project so crews can demolish a section of the bridge deck over Armistead Avenue and replace the beams.

For the safety of motorists traveling underneath the bridge, road closures on Armistead Avenue are being finalized, with oneway closures in each direction lasting as long as six weeks.

The three main eastbound travel lanes on I-64 will remain open for traffic throughout the project. From February through May, motorists would be detoured from Armistead Avenue and also be redirected to access I-64 eastbound from other entry points.

Interstate exits from I-64 west at LaSalle and Armistead avenues will not be affected. VDOT’s project will use state and federal funding, McBride said.

Additional information about the coming project may be found at VDOT’s website (virginiadot.org).

School site up for redevelopment

Is there anyone out there who remembers the Phoebus School?

The Phoebus School on Howard Street was built during the 1902-03 school year, according to Hampton City School records. At one time, the school served students at the elementary, junior and high school levels.

Shuttered in 1974, the school building is long gone and the land is empty. The city officially took ownership of the 1-acre plot in 1999.

Last Wednesday, the Hampton City Council agreed to transfer the land for redevelopment by the city’s Economic Development Authority.

Hampton sees the parcel as strategic property, especially with the “significant economic activity in Phoebus lately,” city spokeswoman Robin McCormick said.

In the past several months, shops and restaurants have sprouted up along Mellen Street. Monroe Gates, a residential development, is also taking shape.

Hampton has not announced plans for this parcel.

If a child builds it, they will come?

It would be a child’s view of Hampton, but that is exactly what they are looking for. Children will be the architects and the engineers at the fourth annual “Build the City” event hosted by the Hampton History Museum.

Drawing inspiration from photos of existing Hampton buildings, the event challenges children, and even adults, to conceive and construct a large-scale model of the city.

Materials available to create include boxes, recyclables, construction paper, chalk, paint and thousands of LEGOs.

“Build the City” is a free activity and takes place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hampton Roads Convention Center.