The Virginia Department of Transportation will shut down a rural roadway south of Batesville to through traffic for six weeks this spring in order to replace a bridge.
The work will begin on April 6 and will close Stillhouse Creek Road in Albemarle so a steel-beam bridge across Whiteside Branch can be removed and a new one can be built. The existing structure is 94 years old and the cost to replace it will be $192,000 according to Alexis Mehretab, communications manager for VDOT’s Culpeper District.
The bridge carries about 161 vehicles a day according to the latest VDOT traffic counts from 2018.
Depending on the weather, the idea is to wrap the project up by May 15.
VDOT has provided information about a detour for those who would be affected.
“To reach points east of the closure, motorists traveling on Route 693 will turn onto Route 635 (Burnt Mountain Road), continue to Route 635 (Craigs Store Road), then follow Route 635 to Route 692 (Plank Road) before returning to Route 693. Traffic traveling from the opposite direction will follow the detour in reverse.
This project is to the north of another bridge that carries Stillhouse Creek Road over Stillhouse Creek itself. VDOT closed this structure for several months in the fall of 2024 after it sustained damage during a flood. In that case, the superstructure on the bridge was able to be replaced. Learn more at the website for VDOT’s Culpeper District.
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