RELEASE: CONTACT:

IMMEDIATE Lou Hatter (540) 829-7537 Louis.Hatter@VDOT.Virginia.gov Odile Brookings 540-829-7394

CULP-062 July 14, 2006

Albemarle County Bridge Reopens; 3-Ton Weight Restriction Remains

ADVANCE MILLS BRIDGE REOPENED TO TRAFFIC
Albemarle County Police to strictly enforce 3-ton weight limit

CULPEPER – The bridge across the Rivanna River on Route 743 at Advance Mills was reopened to traffic Thursday afternoon. The truss bridge will continue to be posted for a three-ton maximum weight limit due to the deterioration of several structural elements and its overall condition.

The Albemarle County Police Department is cooperating with the Virginia Department of Transportation to ensure that overweight vehicles do not use the bridge. Police will patrol in the Advance Mills area and will strictly enforce the posted weight limit. Additional signs advising motorists of the weight limit on the bridge have also been posted along nearby roads.

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors also agreed to add the replacement of the Advance Mills bridge to the county’s Secondary Six-Year Improvement Program when the program is revised in the fall and requested that VDOT move forward with preliminary engineering and design work on a replacement structure.

The bridge was closed May 11 after a routine inspection revealed damage to a vertical support. That support member has been repaired. The bridge is a truss structure built of forged steel with a timber deck and has stood at Advance Mills since 1948. It was moved to Advance Mills from Alleghany County to replace an earlier structure lost during a storm. Its original construction date is unknown.