Barton A. Thrasher P.E. Chief Engineer | Virginia Department of Transportation
Barton A. Thrasher P.E. Chief Engineer | Virginia Department of Transportation
Emergency repairs on the Falmouth Bridge have been completed, and the right lane of Route 1 northbound is set to reopen over the Rappahannock River between Fredericksburg and Stafford County on Friday, March 14.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) had previously reduced Route 1 northbound to a single lane between Charles Street in Fredericksburg and Carter Street in Stafford starting November 1, 2024. This was due to an emergency bridge repair after inspections revealed rapid deterioration among structural steel elements supporting the bridge deck. The single lane closure aimed to reduce vehicle weight on the bridge while providing space for construction crews.
The vehicle weight limit on Falmouth Bridge has now been increased to 27 tons for single-unit vehicles and 40 tons for tractor-trailers. Previously, from November 1, 2024, the limits were set at 16 tons for single-unit vehicles and 24 tons for tractor-trailers. With this change, vehicles of all legal weights can again cross Falmouth Bridge. Signs indicating the new vehicle weight limit are being updated today.
All structural repair work has been completed. This week will see crews finishing spot painting to protect structural steel from further deterioration. They will also demobilize construction equipment and scaffolding before reopening the northbound travel lane.
On Friday, along with reopening the northbound right travel lane, the sidewalk along these lanes will also be accessible again.
Falmouth Bridge supports around 40,000 vehicles daily between Fredericksburg and Stafford as part of Route 1's alternate route for Interstate 95. Opened in traffic since 1943, truck traffic accounts for about one to two percent of all traffic crossing it.
Annual inspections are conducted on Falmouth Bridge. Additionally, during summer 2024, further inspection work was done to gather information necessary for designing a major rehabilitation project currently funded with $86.2 million under the Six-Year Improvement Program.
The estimated $1.1 million emergency repair project was executed by Kokosing Construction Company Inc., designed by Whitman Requardt & Associates LLP., funded through state bridge maintenance funds.
For more details about future major rehabilitation projects on Falmouth Bridge visit VDOT’s website at vdot.virginia.gov.
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