Advance Mills bridge project finally proceeds

After a long wait for Advance Mills residents, the Virginia Department of Transportation is seeking a firm to replace the community’s bridge across the North Fork Rivanna River.

The existing bridge, made of steel trusses and timber, has been closed since 2007 because of structural concerns. VDOT began advertising Tuesday for a company to replace the bridge, located on Route 743, just west of the intersection with Route 641 in northern Albemarle County.

The new bridge will be a prefabricated steel two-lane structure with a wide shoulder to accommodate bicycle and pedestrian traffic. The current bridge is only one lane.

The cost of the project has been estimated at $3.7 million.

“VDOT remains committed to completing this project on schedule and reopening this important piece of northern Albemarle County’s transportation network as quickly as possible,” said Allan Sumpter, Charlottesville residency administrator.

Plans to replace the bridge have been delayed several times. Alternate routes have caused many headaches for residents.

One Advance Mills resident has said that, because of the unusable bridge, it took emergency vehicles 50 minutes to respond to her brother-in-law after he hurt himself in a fall. Another resident has said that Mount Zion Baptist Church, near the bridge, has held fewer church events because of the longer trip and elderly churchgoers finding the alternative routes too dangerous.

Initially, VDOT planned to have a temporary bridge up by April 2008 and a permanent bridge by 2011. Then the Federal Highway Adminis-tration and VDOT flip-flopped several times about whether to stick with the original plan or build only the permanent bridge. They finally settled on building a permanent replacement.

The deadline for firms to submit bids for the project is 10 a.m. Feb. 25. The Commonwealth Transpor-tation Board will award the contract after the bids are reviewed for compliance with federal and state requirements.

Construction is expected to begin in the spring and finish by the fall.