The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors voted this week to name the bridge that carries the extension of Berkmar Drive over the South Fork Rivanna River as the Rio Mills Bridge.
The Rio Mills community was established in the 1820s when William H. Meriwether built a mill downstream from the present-day South Rivanna Reservoir dam where the former Harrisonburg-Charlottesville Turnpike crossed the South Fork of the Rivanna River and a short distance from the current crossing of Berkmar Drive over the South Fork of the Rivanna. The name was a recommendation of Albemarle County’s Historic Preservation Committee after a project to research and document the history of this area in Albemarle County, available here.
“We appreciate the hard work the Historic Preservation Committee did to document the history of the communities that have lived and worked along the South Fork of the Rivanna River over several centuries,” shared Supervisor Ann Mallek. “Giving a name to this bridge is an important step towards placemaking and in telling a complete history of Albemarle County. We look forward to creating more opportunities to share this history with the community.”
Two bridge name signs will be installed this summer.
Read the resolution naming the bridge here.
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