BY STEPHEN H. COWLES/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Playback58@gmail.com

FRANKLIN—Funding to replace a Route 189 bridge over the Blackwater River outside Franklin is included in Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposed transportation funding plan.

The cost to replace the 73-year-old bridge between Pretlow Road and Route 258 is $7.8 million, said Virginia Department of Transportation spokesman Kristopher Purzycki. Under the governor’s proposal, $866,000 would be allocated to help pay for the project.

The bridge, which can be pivoted to allow for the passage of boats, has not been opened in 12 years because it’s considered inadequate, Purzycki said.

VDOT does not plan to replace the span with the same type of bridge. The new one will have a 15-foot clearance from the average high water mark of the river, said Purzycki.

Work is planned to begin in October 2014 and take no more than two years to complete.

“We will have a more accurate length of the project as we get further along in development,” said Purzycki.