Part of Route 658 (Rockland Road) in Warren County is scheduled to close for approximately 20 months starting Monday, April 22, 2024.
The closure will allow contractors for the Virginia Department of Transportation to build a new bridge over the Norfolk-Southern Railway, near Front Royal and the Virginia Inland Port. Route 658 currently has an at-grade crossing where motorists experience frequent and sometimes lengthy delays for stopped trains.
The new Route 658 bridge is expected to open to traffic by December 2025. During construction, Route 658 traffic in the vicinity of the railway crossing will be detoured via Routes 340/522 (Winchester Road) to the west and Route 661 (Fairground Road) to the east and north. Rockland Park will remain open to the public during construction.
Before the scheduled closure on April 22, motorists should be alert for flagger traffic control at various locations along Route 658 due to sign installation and other preliminary construction work. VDOT is making roadway improvements along the detour route prior to the closure. Route 658 motorists should be alert for speed-limit changes, some of which will remain in place after construction is complete.
All work is weather permitting.
The Route 658 project consists of a bridge (grade-separated crossing) 220 feet long and 40 feet wide with a minimum vertical clearance of 24 feet 8 inches over the railroad tracks for accommodation of double-stacked freight containers. The improvements will allow Route 658 traffic to travel uninterrupted on the bridge while trains will pass underneath.
The project also includes improvements to roadway approaches on Route 658 and realigns part of Route 705 (Fishnet Boulevard), the entrance to Rockland Park.
A construction contract valued at $11.8 million was awarded in October 2023 to Shirley Contracting Company LLC of Lorton. The total estimated cost for the project is $20.6 million including preliminary engineering, right-of-way and utility relocation expenses, and construction. Funding was awarded in part by a BUILD grant to the Virginia Port Authority by the United States Department of Transportation in 2018.
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Rebecca Barnabi
