Under Construction

Note: the bridge will be closed to traffic this weekend (May 18-19, 2013) for preliminary work. Drivers are asked to follow the signed detour.

About the Project

Beginning June 19, Beach Mill Road will be closed to traffic for the summer so the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) can rebuild the bridge over Nichols Branch in Fairfax County. The new bridge is expected to re-open by Labor Day.

This $1 million project was rescheduled from last year so that work could be completed within a summer, to avoid traffic impacts to school buses from the bridge closure and detour.

Plans were underway to replace the original 1940 Beach Mill bridge when it was washed out by Tropical Storm Lee in September 2011. Under an emergency contract, crews installed a temporary double-box culvert that opened to traffic in November 2011.

This summer, the temporary box culvert will be replaced with a new, timber deck structure with more adequate hydraulic capacity to withstand high water during storms. Much community input went into the small, single-span design that stays within current right-of-way, reduces costs and remains consistent with the community's character.

Beach Mill Road carries approximately 1,700 vehicles per day over Nichols Branch.

Traffic Impacts

Beach Mill Road detour begins June 19 —To minimize impacts to bus routes, the bridge will close to traffic June 19 and re-open before the new school year begins. During construction, traffic will be detoured via Springvale Road, Georgetown Pike (Route 193) and Utterback Store Road. See a Google map of the detour route.

Four weekend closures May to June — Prior to the summer-long closure, four complete weekend closures of the bridge will be scheduled to complete some utility and preliminary work. These closures will be 9 p.m. Fridays to 5 a.m. Mondays and will start as early as May 11. Closures will be posted on message boards in advance and will not be scheduled over Memorial Day weekend. Drivers will use the same detour.

During all closures, private driveway and local street access on Beach Mill Road between Utterback Road and Springvale Road up to the project site will be maintained.

VDOT will coordinate this work with the Route 7 widening project, so that crews do not impact Georgetown Pike traffic while the Beach Mill detour is in place.

Resources

Great Falls community meeting presentation (Nov. 13, 2012)
Public hearing presentation (View .pps version or .pdf version), brochure, comments and summary of comments (June 27, 2011)
Historic resources information 

State Project: 603-029-718, P101, C501, B603
Federal Project: BROS-5401(981)  UPC: 84385