Black Cat Road in Keswick closes Jan. 19 for bridge replacement

Next Monday, Jan. 19 the Virginia Department of Transportation and contractor Fairfield-Echols LLC of Fishersville will begin work to replace the Route 616 (Black Cat Road) bridge over Buckingham Branch Railroad in Albemarle County, weather permitting. The bridge is located approximately 0.4 mile south of Route 22 (Keswick Road).

The project involves demolishing the existing timber-deck bridge, which was built in 1947 and has a three-ton weight restriction, and replacing it with a structure featuring two 11-foot travel lanes and five-foot shoulders. The new bridge will carry all legal loads, meets updated standards for vertical clearance and allows room for a future additional track.

During construction, Route 616 will be closed and traffic will be detoured via Route 250 (Richmond Road). Motorists should expect the detour to remain in place through Oct. 15, the project’s completion date.

Approximately 800 vehicles use Route 616 daily, according to 2013 data.

With the low bid of $2,127,718.92, Fairfield-Echols was awarded the construction contract for the Route 616 bridge project in November. More information can be found on VDOT’s website atwww.virginiadot.org/projects/culpeper/blackcatrd.asp.