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Virginia Beach has long wanted another way in and out of its popular southern beach community, Sandbridge.

The only current route is Sandbridge Road, which often becomes impassable due to flooding or tourist traffic.

Everyone agrees the community’s roughly 900 residents need more options during an emergency, flooding or congestion.

But local environmental groups say they’re concerned about the city’s $45.5 million proposed solution of adding to the existing Nimmo Parkway.

It would extend Nimmo to Sandbridge Road, cutting through a part of the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge that already belongs to the city.

Environmental advocates said the new path would harm wildlife and wetlands and potentially worsen local flooding issues. 

“It goes right through the refuge, through some very sensitive and important areas: marshes, maritime forest and other protected areas just full of all kinds of wildlife,” said Karen Forget, director of Lynnhaven River Now, one of the groups opposing the project.

Others include Norfolk-based Wetlands Watch, the Back Bay Restoration Foundation and the Southern Environmental Law Center.

The project also doesn’t address problems for residents on Sandbridge Road, Forget said. 

“They’re still going to be at the mercy of the wind, tides and flooding.”

Instead, the coalition said, the city should invest in improving that road to accommodate more traffic flow and sea level rise in the years to come. 

The city released a draft environmental assessment for the project this month, angering the groups who say it does not adequately address potential harms. 

The Virginia Department of Transportation helped the city prepare the document for the Federal Highway Administration, which will need to grant permits for the project to move forward.

The city’s idea for the Nimmo Parkway extension goes back in one form or another to the 1960s.

It was always a matter of funding and priorities, said David Jarman, transportation division manager with the Virginia Beach public works department. 

The recent proposal has been included in city spending plans since 2015, he said.

The planned extension of Nimmo would include bike lanes and is about 1.85 miles, connecting Sandbridge Road through the refuge with the current east end of the parkway in the Lago Mar neighborhood. 

About 800 feet of that would be a bridge over Ashville Bridge Creek. The rest would be built on fill.

That could act as “a de facto dam,” flooding people on either side depending on wind and water conditions, said Jared Brandwein, executive director of the Back Bay Restoration Foundation.

Wind tides are a particular concern in the area, even more severe due to changing climate conditions and loss of marshes, he said.

“There isn't an explanation of where this water goes,” added Skip Stiles of Wetlands Watch. “The direct impact on the wetlands are bad enough. But then you've got these secondary impacts that are unexplained. Maybe the wetlands are fine. Maybe the wetlands drown in place because of the additional water. Who knows?”

Brandwein worries about the black bears, bobcats and other species who move through the area.

Jarman said the city is factoring all these concerns into the design, including culverts to allow normal water flow and “critter crossings” to let animals pass through.

But those aren’t promised in the document, Brandwein said.

“I spent 37 years in the federal government writing and editing and reviewing environmental assessments,” he said. “And I never saw (one) with only two alternatives”:  build or don’t build.

The city already did studies in the early 2000s on the possibility of improving Sandbridge Road and didn’t think they needed to again, Jarman said.

During emergencies, Sandbridge residents currently use access through Naval Air Station Oceana’s Dam Neck Annex, a high-security military facility restricted from the public. That’s one more reason officials want another way, Jarman said.

“It’s kind of a looming issue out there because they don’t have to provide that,” he said. “If they have security issues or other things that come up, they could just as easily say, ‘no more.’ And folks would be cut off out there.”

Virginia Beach is seeking public comment on its draft environmental assessment through June 24. Then it will have to address the official comments and pursue various permits. 

Jarman said construction’s not slated to start until 2026.

People can weigh in on the project at a forum on June 8 at Three Oaks Elementary School or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..