Norris Bridge safety rated as “fair”

by Jackie Nunnery –

The decades-long process to replace the aging Robert O. Norris Jr. Memorial Bridge continues with the addition of $5 million in the recently passed state budget. Funding to replace the bridge, which opened in 1957, was approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) in 2021 as part of the Special Structures 50-Year Long-Term Plan.

According to Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) communications manager Kelly Hannon, the plan includes $390.3 million to construct a new two-lane bridge with shoulders and a higher rail, with construction slated to begin in fiscal year 2036.

Meanwhile, VDOT will continue to maintain the roughly two-mile long span linking Middlesex and Lancaster counties, which is rated “5” on a 0-9 bridge inspection scale, meaning it is in “fair” condition. If any of the rated elements — deck, superstructure or substructure — are rated “4” during an inspection, the bridge would be considered structurally deficient. The entire bridge is inspected every two years, last completed in fall 2020. Hannon said the “fracture-critical elements” are inspected annually, which was last completed in May 2022, adding that the bridge is a “fractured / critical bridge” in that the key elements of the design do not have any redundancy. An underwater inspection is completed every five years, with the next due in 2023.

“If a structural concern is discovered that presents an unsafe travel condition, we will close any bridge immediately. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of travelers crossing these structures,” Hannon said.