The closures will allow contractors to remove the concrete deck on the Route 720 (Smithland Road/Old Furnace Road) bridge over the interstate’s mile marker 248.8.
Virginia State Police will hold northbound traffic on I-81 at exit 240 (Mount Crawford/Bridgewater) each night. Also briefly closed during this time will be northbound entrance ramp to exits 243, 245 and 247 into Harrisonburg. Northbound lanes and ramps will reopen as soon as conditions are safe for traffic to drive under the bridge.
The cloverleaf on-ramp from eastbound Route 33 (East Market Street) onto I81 northbound will also be on slow-roll closures, and eastbound traffic will follow a short detour.
According to a press release, additional closures of I-81 northbound and southbound will be necessary in 2023 during demolition and construction of the bridge. Motorists will be advised of scheduled closures. The old Route 720 bridge will be removed and a replaced bridge built with the project expected to be complete by fall 2023.
Between route 718 (Old Furnace Road) and F-238 (Buffalo Drive), Route 720 is closed, and traffic is using a 3.5-mile detour. Some phases of the project will require temporary closure of Buffalo Drive, at which time drivers will see a sign reading “Road Closed to Through Traffic” at the Route 724 (Trinity Church Road) intersection.
Overnight left-lane closures on northbound and southbound I-81 will allow for construction of a center pier for the new Route 720 overpass bridge. The new bridge will have two through lanes, five-foot shoulders and three feet higher than the old bridge.
VDOT awarded a contract of $4.9 million to Triton Construction Inc. of Virginia in April 2022 for the bridge project. All work is weather permitting.
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Rebecca Barnabi
