Portion of Route 761 to close for bridge replacement at Clarke, Frederick county line

Part of Route 761 (Old Charles Town Road) in Clarke and Frederick counties is scheduled to be closed from Monday, Feb. 3 through November.

The closure is for replacement of the Opequon Creek bridge at the county line.

During construction, Route 761 will be closed to through traffic between the intersections of Route 666 (Gun Club Road) and Route 661 (Wadesville Road).

Detour signs will guide traffic as follows:

Drivers coming from the west (Frederick County side) will go north on Route 11 (Martinsburg Pike), then east on Route 672 (Brucetown Road/Swimley Road), which eventually curves to the south and returns to Route 761.

Drivers coming from the east (Clarke County side) will go north Route 672 (Swimley Road/Brucetown Road), which curves to the west and continues to Route 11 (Martinsburg Pike). Drivers will turn south on Route 11 to return to Route 761.

The current Route 761 bridge over Opequon Creek is nearly 100 years old and has reached the end of its service life. The bridge is a frequently flooded, low-water structure with a single lane for traffic. The new bridge will be roughly 5 feet higher in elevation and will carry two lanes of traffic.

The Virginia Department of Transportation in November 2024 awarded a $3.4 million construction contract to Fairfield-Echols, LLC of Fishersville. Final completion of the project is May 2026, but the bridge is scheduled to open to traffic in November 2025. Traffic and construction updates will be posted on the VDOT project page.

All work is weather permitting, and the project schedule is subject to change.