Chatham, Virginia's Bannister River Bridge Restoration project is nearing completion.
Originally built in 1943, construction on the structure began last summer on the northbound bridge. During construction, the southbound bridge was reduced to one lane of traffic. The $4.2 million restoration project is being done by Haymes Brothers, Inc. out of Pittsylvania County.
“It almost needs a full replacement,” said Len Stevens, The Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT) Lynchburg District Communications Manager. “The steel beams underneath, they’re replacing those. The superstructure above, they’re replacing all of that. So, you’re going to have pretty much a brand new bridge when they’re done.”
On average, 10,000 vehicles pass over the bridge daily, with 13% being tractor trailers.
“It’s kind of a proactive approach. There was no real, immediate danger of anything serious happening to the bridge, but we think in terms of looking well ahead of time, then, the decision was made,” added Stevens.
According to Stevens, construction is right on track to be finished in August.
“There can be really bad weather we run into or some other issue that we find maybe with the bedrock, but that has not been the case for this project. Right now, all systems are a go. We seem pretty confident, unless something pops up that’s completely unexpected, that we’re going to make that August of this year deadline to reopen the traffic completely on this bridge,” said Stevens.
VDOT's Bridge Maintenance Program funded the restoration project.
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Source: MSN.com
