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Save This PageCHARLES CITY -- The state Route 5 bridge over the Chickahominy River will be closed to traffic Thursday night.
Construction work for the $44 million Judith Stewart Dresser Memorial Bridge will halt traffic on the existing structure from 11 p.m. Thursday until 5 a.m. Friday. Emergency vehicles will be allowed to cross the two-lane bridge during the closure.
According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, a recent traffic count showed that about 90 vehicles use the bridge during those hours.
Drivers heading east from Charles City County on Route 5 should detour via:
Drivers traveling west on Route 5 from James City should take:
Because the detour totals 63 miles, VDOT urges drivers to allow 1½ hours extra travel time.
During the closure, construction crews will begin pouring the concrete deck for the new 2,550-foot bridge.
VDOT plans to close the span on five additional nights over the next five months to expedite building the two-lane replacement bridge.
The project to replace the worn-out span, formerly known as the Barretts Ferry Bridge, is under budget and ahead of schedule by seven months, VDOT said. The new bridge should be open for traffic by late December, nine months ahead of the originally projected September 2009 opening.
Problems with the Barretts Ferry Bridge, built in 1939 on timber pilings, led VDOT to restrict or close the structure repeatedly over the past decade. The swing-span bridge is 2,025 feet long. Its center section pivots horizontally to let boats pass, rather than lifting upward as drawbridges do.
When finished, the new bridge will rise 52 feet above the river, allowing boats to travel underneath without the need for a bridge opening.
For details about the Route 5 bridge project, go to: http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/richmond/rt._5_bridge_over_the_chicka hominy_river.asp.
Contact Peter Bacqué at (804) 649-6813 or pbacque@timesdispatch.com.
