Caroline County will receive at least $52.4 million of road improvements from VDOT within the next year. The projects include several bridge rehabilitations and the widening of Ladysmith Road, which will be expanded to four lanes with a raised median between I-95 and Route 1. The project also includes installing new traffic signal equipment and pedestrian accommodations.
A weight restriction was posted on a bridge on Sparta Road in January 2016, after an inspection found deterioration to the bridge’s structural steel and beams. The weight limit is 27 tons for dual-axle vehicles and 35 tons for multi-axle vehicles. VDOT will replace the bridge’s superstructure, which would include a new bridge deck and beams.
This work would remove the weight posting. Construction is scheduled for late 2016, to begin no later than Nov. 15. Construction would require closing the bridge to traffic for up to one month while the work is performed.
VDOT’s Communication Director of the Fredericksburg District, Kelly Hannon, said that VDOT is trying to accelerate the construction to begin sooner if possible to remove the weight posting as quickly as they can.
Construction began in April on the James Madison Memorial Bridge, located on Route 301 between Caroline and King George counties, and is estimated to continue until October of 2017. According to VDOT, maintenance will occur below the bridge deck and include repairing concrete throughout the structure and on the beam ends, replacing bearings and replacing navigation on the fender system.
A $2.3 million bridge rehabilitation project is underway on Route 722, Nelson Hill Road, at the Mattaponi River in Caroline County. Nelson Hill Road is closed to traffic during construction, which will be underway until mid-September 2016. Construction began in April 2016.VDOT advises that motorists should use Route 207, Rogers Clark Boulevard, to access the opposite end of Nelson Hill Road.The detour route is 4.8 miles. An average of 1,800 vehicles per day cross the bridge.
The existing bridge was built in 1966 and is structurally deficient. It has a posted weight limit of 24 tons for single-unit trucks, and 34 tons for tractor-trailers. VDOT will improve the bridge’s condition and remove the weight posting by replacing the bridge’s superstructure. A new concrete deck and steel beams will be installed.
For motorist safety, VDOT installed a temporary single-lane bridge at Beverly Creek on Route 721 (Newtown Road) in April 2015. Traffic is controlled by a temporary traffic signal on both approaches. The existing bridge, built in 1952, had been posted with a 14-ton weight limit for vehicles.
When an inspection discovered deterioration in early 2015, VDOT decided to close the existing bridge. The temporary bridge allowed the road to remain open to traffic until the $2.7 million construction project to replace the bridge could be completed.
The construction project has been advertised to potential bidders. The contractor is expected to mobilize at the bridge later this year, and the new bridge will open in July 2017.
The bridge carries an average of 440 vehicles per day, according to VDOT traffic data. The bridge is located at the Caroline and King and Queen county line.
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