$17.8 million contract for Rappahannock River bridge replacement awarded

A new bridge will soon link Fredericksburg to Stafford County.

Virginia Transportation officials awarded a construction contract to a Pennsylvania firm that will reconstruct the Chatham Bridge, which carries vehicles on Route 3 over the Rappahannock River. The bridge provides direct entry to Downtown Fredericksburg, as well as links the city to nearby Chatham Manor, a historic estate, and Ferry Farm, the boyhood home of George Washington.

VDOT tells us:

The Commonwealth Transportation Board awarded a $17.8 million contract today to begin construction on a project to rehabilitate the Route 3 Business bridge over the Rappahannock River between the City of Fredericksburg and Stafford County, also known as Chatham Bridge.

The project contract was awarded to Joseph B. Fay Co., of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

When the improved bridge opens, it will provide pedestrians and bicyclists with a separate shared-use path, which will connect with existing sidewalks in downtown Fredericksburg and Stafford County’s Belmont-Ferry Farm Trail. A scenic overlook will provide a refuge for pedestrians to stop at the bridge midpoint. New light posts will be installed, and new bridge railings will keep the distinctive open view of the Rappahannock River.

Chatham Bridge will close to traffic in late May 2020. Traffic will be detoured for an estimated 16 to 18 months, with a bridge reopening planned for fall 2021.

The project will replace the bridge deck and travel surface, and will make repairs to the bridge approaches and supporting elements in the substructure which will allow the removal of the current 15-ton vehicle weight limit posting on the bridge.

Final construction activities will continue after the bridge has reopened to traffic, and the contractor has until April 2022 to complete all work. The impact to traffic after the bridge reopens will be limited. Only periodic single-lane closures, scheduled at off-peak times, are anticipated to be needed.