Fort Norfolk to temporarily close to visitors

Norfolk District Public Affairs
Published Nov. 6, 2015
FORT NORFOLK, Va. -- Fort Norfolk stands open for visitors June 1, 2012. The fort, which is maintained and preserved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is the last remaining of 19 harbor-front forts authorized in 1794 by President George Washington. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick Bloodgood)

FORT NORFOLK, Va. -- Fort Norfolk will temporarily close to visitors in November, 2015. The fort, which is maintained and preserved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is the last remaining of 19 harbor-front forts authorized in 1794 by President George Washington. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick Bloodgood)

NOFOLK, Va. -- Fort Norfolk will close to visitors from Nov. 12-27 as contractors perform various landscape repairs to the historic War of 1812-era coastal fortification.

ABC Contracting, an 8a small business based in Virginia Beach, will perform landscaping that includes removing 11 trees from the fort: Norfolk District project manager John Haynes said the Corps identified root systems that could damage 203-year-old fort walls.  

Maintenance and repairs are part of an ongoing program begun in 2010 to preserve and restore the historic fabric of Fort Norfolk.

Two upcoming projects will address lead paint and the electrical system in Building 3.  

Service Disabled Contracting Group, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business company, will complete lead abatement and remove a large refrigerator in Building 3. The building, which was originally enlisted quarters in 1809, last served as a cafeteria before the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed construction of the Waterfield Building and moved out of the fort in the early 1980s.  

After contractors complete the lead abatement, ABC Contracting will return to perform the electrical work in Building 3.

The fort, which is maintained and preserved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is the last remaining of 19 harbor-front forts authorized in 1794 by President George Washington.