Update Oct. 29: VDOT has made a change to its project plan for the bridge replacement project. Rehabilitation work and preventative maintenance on the southbound bridge will be done separately from the Route 134 Bridge Replacement Project, prior to the start of construction on the northbound bridge, according to a VDOT spokeswoman.
A Virginia Department of Transportation road project is underway at the York County-City of Hampton border to fix two aging bridges over Brick Kiln Creek.
The $7 million project is on Route 134/Hampton Highway, and will replace a northbound bridge that isn’t built to current standards and repair a southbound bridge with superstructure deficiencies.
The project will bring the northbound lanes up to design standards with wider shoulders and new bridge approaches. VDOT is still deliberating whether it will conduct maintenance on the southbound bridge, or fully replace the deck.
Through next spring, residents will see crews working to relocate utilities around the bridges, VDOT spokeswoman Brittany McBride Nichols said.
“The lane closures for the utility relocations will take place on an as needed basis when the work is occurring and will be limited to between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to minimize impacts to traffic,” she said.
Utility relocation is expected to be completed in late spring 2019, ahead of the start of construction in fall 2019.
The project is expected to be completed in fall 2021, McBride Nichols said.
VDOT is the lead agency on the project, although crews has been coordinating with both York County and City of Hampton for the project.
Classifying the bridges’ conditions
The bridges on Hampton Highway are only two of Virginia’s 21,104 bridges and large culverts.
Statewide, 3,429 are functionally obsolete and 1,209 are structurally deficient.
Neither bridge involved in the Hampton Highway project is considered structurally deficient, McBride Nichols said, but the northbound bridge, built in 1930, was classified as functionally obsolete in 2008 because it is built to standards no longer in use.
According to VDOT definitions, a functionally obsolete bridge is one that was built to standards not in use today, although that does not mean they are “inherently unsafe.”
On the other hand, bridges are considered structurally deficient if they have been restricted to light vehicles, closed to traffic, or required rehabilitation — again, that doesn’t mean they are likely to collapse, according to VDOT.
“It means the bridge must be monitored, inspected and maintained,” the VDOT definition reads.
Bridge inspectors rate several factors on a 0 (failed) to 9 (excellent) scale, which is used nationally by the National Bridge Inspection Standards. If a structure receives a rating or 4 or less for its deck, superstructure or substructure, it is classified as structurally deficient.
VDOT data shows the southbound bridge was built in 1973, and last inspected Aug. 15, 2018. While it has superstructure deficiencies, it is not considered structurally deficient.
The southbound bridge received a 6 rating in all three categories during its most recent inspection.
The functionally obsolete northbound bridge received a rating of 5 in the deck, superstructure and substructure categories during a December 2017 inspection.
The process looking ahead
VDOT recently finished acquiring utility easements for the project in July to the tune of $19,800, McBride Nichols said.
Construction will begin next fall, after utility relocation is finished.
McBride Nichols said the northbound bridge will be closed first for the demolition and construction of the new bridge. During that time, northbound traffic — running from Hampton to York County — will be shifted to the southbound bridge.
Once the new northbound bridge is complete, all traffic will be shifted to the new bridge so VDOT can work on repairs for the southbound bridge.
Full project information can be found on the VDOT website’s Route 134 Bridge Replacement project page.
