The Virginia Department of Transportation will start construction next week on a project to replace a bridge superstructure on State Route 207 (Rogers Clark Boulevard) northbound over the Mattaponi River in Caroline County.
The $9.6 million project will replace the superstructure of the existing bridge. The steel-plate girders, concrete deck, railing, bridge approaches, and substructure repairs will be replaced during the project.
Construction will begin Monday. Crews will close the Route 207 northbound bridge late next month, and the road will remain closed at this location for about nine months. During the closure, Route 207 will be reduced to two travel lanes. All northbound traffic will be diverted to cross the Mattaponi using the southbound bridge, with one travel lane open in each direction.
The speed limit on Route 207 in the work zone will be reduced temporarily from 60 mph to 45 mph when construction begins. Work zone speed limit signs will be installed and covered ahead of the project and will be uncovered once work starts.
Weather permitting, the Route 207 northbound bridge will reopen to traffic in April.
An average of 12,000 vehicles a day travel on the highway.
Message boards will be posted to notify drivers of the upcoming closure and diversion.
The project contractor is Kokosing Construction Co. Inc.
