RICHMOND—The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will kickoff the Interstate 64 ACCA Yard Bridge rehabilitation project with a town hall meeting Nov. 3 at the Holiday Inn Crossroads, 2000 Staples Mill Road in Richmond.

The meeting will allow citizens to meet the contractor and project team and to get a preview of construction and traffic impacts for the recently begun ACCA Yard project. There will be an open house at 6 p.m. for citizens to view plans and speak to project personnel and an overview presentation at 7 p.m.

The $23 million construction project will replace the bridge deck and repair the substructure of the I-64 bridge over the ACCA railroad switching yard, near the I-64 Staples Mill Interchange. The intent of the project is to rehabilitate the 37 year-old structure and ensure many decades of additional service. In order to maintain three lanes of traffic through the construction zone at all times during the three-year project, two additional lanes will be added to the bridge during construction. When all work is completed, these additional lanes will result in reduced congestion and a continuous merge lane from Staples Mill Road to the Laburnum Avenue/I-195 interchange.

Work on this project began in late September. During the first phase of the three-year, three-phase project, the impact to traffic will be limited because much of the work will take place beneath the bridge. However, travel lanes will be narrowed to approximately 11 feet and rush-hour delays are expected.

The greater impact will begin in late 2005 when vehicles traveling from I-195 northbound to I-64 westbound will be restricted from crossing the construction zone and exiting onto Staples Mill Road. Alternate routes will be posted to send this traffic to West Broad Street to Glenside Drive to Staples Mill Road, or to use the I-195 Broad Street exit.

During the third phase, from late 2006 to late 2007, crews will restore all traffic to the Staples Mill exit, but construction will still be underway on top of the bridge and lane widths will remain restricted.

Work zones will be in place around the clock for the duration of the project due to the scope of this work. Additional nighttime lane closures can also be expected from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday. Motorists can expect delays in this area, especially during peak travel times. I-64 through traffic wishing to avoid this construction site altogether may use I-295 or Route 288 as alternates.

To learn more, visit www.VirginiaDOT.org and look under “Projects and Studies.” Project
renderings, traffic phasing and alternate route maps are posted on the site.

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Page last modified: Nov. 1, 2004