FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Route 1 travelers may encounter brief delays on Friday, Dec. 8, at the South River in Caroline County as crews carry out final construction activities to reopen four travel lanes at the bridge.
The South River bridge is located on Route 1 between Clara Smith Street and Glen Meadows Drive, in the Ladysmith area of the county. A $4 million bridge rehabilitation project underway since Feb. 2023 has reduced Route 1 to a single northbound and southbound lane in the work zone.
Between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday, Route 1 travelers can expect intermittent traffic stops, flagging, and temporary traffic patterns at the bridge. The temporary two lanes of traffic will be shifted Friday from the southbound lanes to the northbound lanes so crews can apply new pavement markings. By Friday evening, all four lanes of Route 1 are anticipated to reopen at the bridge.
Crews repaired the substructure and superstructure of the 97-year-old bridge and installed a new concrete travel surface on the bridge deck. The rehabilitation project is expected to extend the life of the bridge for another 100 years. The project is expected to be finished by mid-December, substantially ahead of the scheduled July 2024 completion date.
