November 2, 2009

The new Advance Mills bridge should be open to traffic by the end of the year, the Virginia Department of Transportation announced Monday.

The construction contract with Charlottesville-based Fielders Choice Enterprises, Inc. has been extended by one month to accommodate unanticipated conditions discovered during construction. Significant rock found while the shafts for the bridge piers were being drilled required additional time for the drilling and completion of the bridge piers.

The contract now calls for the bridge to be open to traffic by December 23. That is approximately one month later than the contract’s original specified completion date of November 24.

Work on the $1,934,457.50 project started in late April.

The two-lane, steel truss bridge now under construction will span the North Fork Rivanna River on Route 743 at Advance Mills in northern Albemarle County. The bridge will include a wide shoulder to accommodate bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Improvements will be made to the roadway approaches on both sides of the bridge, including modifications to the intersection just east of the bridge to improve sight distances and safety for motorists. The roadway approaches will also be widened to match the increased width of the two-lane bridge.

The new truss bridge will replace the one-lane steel truss, timber deck structure that was closed in the spring of 2007 due to severe deterioration of the structural members that support the bridge. That bridge was demolished and the new bridge is being built in the same location.