Constitution Water and Sewer Rehab Newsletter

The City of Portsmouth Department of Public Utilities will soon begin replacement of the existing water and sanitary sewer mains along a portion of Constitution Avenue from approximately North Street to Ann Street.  In general, this work will be confined to excavation of the roadway for installation of the pipes, manholes, and various connections.  Upon completion of the utility work, this portion of Constitution Avenue will be repaved.

The project was awarded to Gaston Brothers with an anticipated mobilization at the beginning of May.  The total construction time for this project is two months.  Unfortunately, construction of this magnitude can be disruptive.  However, the City and Gaston Brothers will work very hard to minimize disruptions.  Construction activity will be limited to Monday through Friday from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm.  However, there will be a maximum of three scheduled water service interruptions as the contractor replaces the water lines.  This work will occur between the hours of midnight and 6 am and you will be notified in advance.

Click the link below to see the attached PDF for information on entrance and exit plans for Shea Terrace traffic.

Portsmouth Public Utilities Work on Constitution Avenue

Residents,

Many of you have been wondering about the utilities work on Constitution Avenue.

I spoke with Brian Foster at Portsmouth Public Utilities at 393 8691, ext 2192.

The situation with the sewer pipes in this area has been longstanding.  I am sure that you have seen the Department of Public Utilities vehicles “bubbling out” this area of the neighborhood.  Now, the situation has become worse, causing the collapse of part of the street and necessitating the pumping machine to be on 24/7.

All of this is due to aging infrastructure and begs for a permanent solution.

The final bids to correct the total problem on Constitution Avenue were due in yesterday (April 8th).  During the next few weeks, a contractor will be chosen. We will have notification before work begins and advanced notice of any time the water will be shut off.  The project may take up to 4 months.

This will cause some disruption, but the ultimate result will be a long-term solution vs. the piecemeal repairs that last only a few years.

Your Civic League will continue to keep you informed as the start date comes closer.  We will have direct contact to project managers and have a commitment from Mr. Foster that his department will keep in close contact with the neighborhood via the Civic League.

Best regards,

Bruce Bremer, President
Shea Terrace Civic League

YARD SALE – May 3rd

Shea Terrace Annual Neighborhood Yard Sale


Just in time for spring cleaning, the Shea Terrace Annual Community Yard Sale will be held Saturday May 3rd from 9AM to 1PM.  Participating homes are requested to donate $5.00 to the civic league to off set the cost of advertising in the Virginian Pilot.  In return, paid participants will have their homes placed on a map that will be handed out at the Constitution Ave. entrance. This will direct traffic your way.

Payment must be made by 5PM May 1st to be placed on the map. This will give us time to create the map with the participating homes on it and get several hundred duplicated.  We have handed out over 200 in the past.

We are also seeking volunteers to hand out maps for a period of one to four hours between 9AM and 1PM.  To arrange for yard sale participant map placement payment, schedule volunteer map hand out time, or answer yard sale questions please call:

Nancy Lamartin at 393-2293 or Pat Pfeiffer at 478-7165.  Please leave a message if we are not in.

Flagship to Once Again Reopen

flagshipUnder new leadership, Sean Duffy will guide the neighborhood’s cherished restaurant, The Flagship, into a new direction, promising a fun, family atmosphere. Just the kind of place Shea Terrace has been looking to host.

Stay tuned for more details.

Shea Terrace Welcomes New NIO Officer, Whitney Ray

Shea Terrace has had some terrific NEAT (Neighborhood Enhancement Action Team)  officers, termed “NIO’s” (neighborhood impact officers) over the years. In fact, we’re such  great trainers here in the neighborhood, we seem to lose NIO’s to promotion!

Rusty Venters, a previous NIO, is now Lt. Venters. And, unfortunately for us, but happily  for him, NIO Sean Hughes has been promoted to Sgt.

Our new NIO is a trailblazer. Officer Whitney Ray is our first female NIO. Officer Ray will serve Shea Terrace and London Oaks. Ray is well thought of by both her peers and chain  of command. She spent several years in security with the Portsmouth Police Department prior to becoming an officer.

Ray comes to us with 5 years total expNIO Ray (2014)erience. Her last position was as a uniformed  patrol officer in the Southside area, serving residents of Truxton and Swanson Homes on the midnight tour.

Officer Ray has already met with members of the Civic League Board and looks forward to meeting community members at the next Civic League meeting. She has also met with  the two detectives who serve our neighborhood. Ray is clearly a problem solver and  a “people person”; both important qualities in a successful neighborhood officer.

Please be sure to offer Officer Ray a warm Shea Terrace welcome as you see her out and about. As always, call 911 first in an emergency, but feel free to call Officer Whitney Ray at cell phone number 715-3641 or rayw@portsmouthva.gov with any neighborhood crime questions or concerns.

Snowfall 2014

2014 is getting off to a big start with two snowfall events in under a week. Many Shea Terrace residents have been holed up in their homes, hoping for warmer temps to begin melting the 8″-10″ of snow that fell Tuesday night (Jan 28th). True to form in the Hampton Roads region, we will go from record lows on Thursday to 60+ degrees by the weekend, giving us the much-desired warming to get this snow gone!

Civic League President, Bruce Bremer and wife (and former Civic League President), Anne, took these two photos depicting the enormity of this snow event.

do do do looking out my front door

(Looking out and onto the property of the former 7th Avenue School, now a lovely home for seniors).

 

 

 

 

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(Kathy, on Idlewood, shares this photo of her two babies dressed for the weather, and enjoying some fun time in the snow.)

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(Bruce shows the depth of the snow in front of his home on Constitution. Quite an accumulation.)

 

 

 

 

 

We look forward to receiving more photos from our fellow Shea Terrace neighbors, and will update this post as they come in. Stay tuned….