Bridge detours altered

By Elisa Glushefski

Published: August 22, 2008

The second installment of the new Buckland Bridge on southbound U.S. 29 is on schedule for this weekend, but the Virginia Department of Transportation has made a couple of changes to minimize any pain felt by motorists, a spokesman for the department said.

Starting around 6 p.m. Saturday, workers will begin lowering the second of three prefabricated concrete decks as part of the $2.8 million bridge replacement project that began in December, said VDOT's Mike Salmon.

Instead of redirecting traffic onto Beverly Mill Road to get back to U.S. 29—as was done last weekend—traffic will be detoured to U.S. 15 north to Interstate 66 west to U.S. 17 to U.S. 29—the same route that trucks were required to take last weekend, Salmon said.

"Those roads can handle the traffic a lot better," Salmon said.

One of the problems last week that sparked the change, he added, was some motorists, thinking they were going the wrong way, would turn around before reaching Beverly Mill Road to ask for directions, adding even more time to their trip, Salmon said.

"You could imagine this detour could add some time to the trip," he said while traveling on Beverly Mill Road during a tour of the project area Thursday.

The amount of time the I-66 detour could add is an estimated 20 to 30 minutes—about the same as the Beverly Mill Road route, which Salmon is only recommended for local car traffic.

There were also some issues with lighting and signage, so VDOT will be increasing the presence of both while the detour is in place, Salmon said.

Work on the second deck could last until early Monday morning.

The southbound span going over Broad Run being replaced was built in 1953, he said, and each of the new sections being installed ranges in size from 7 feet, 8.5 inches to 13 feet, 1 inch wide and are each 44 feet long.

And the sections can weigh between 30 and 35 tons, Salmon said.

The project will bring the southbound span up to current standards and will widen the shoulders from 2 feet to 8 feet on the outside and to 4 feet on the inside, making it safer for drivers on the 55 mph roadway, he said.

Prince William County and Virginia state police will be stationed at key intersections to assist with any traffic incidents and to keep traffic moving, according to VDOT.

Northbound traffic will not be affected. The installment of the third and final module is scheduled for Sept. 5 to 8.

Staff writer Elisa Glushefski can be reached at 703-878-8062.