BOYKINS
The Virginia Department of Transportation will restrict the flow of traffic on a section of Route 35 outside of Boykins down to one lane under the direction of a temporary traffic signal beginning Friday, Nov. 4, as construction crews demolish and replace the bridge over the Tarrara Creek.

According to a press release from VDOT representative Tiffany Whitfield, the new bridge will be 104 feet long, 32 feet wide and will carry two 11-foot lanes, as well as three-foot shoulders and six-foot sidewalks with curbs to accommodate bicycles and pedestrians. The project will also include guardrail improvements at the approaches to the bridge.

VDOT awarded the construction contract for the bridge to Abernathy Construction Inc. for $1.8 million on Oct. 3, and construction began on Oct. 21. The building is expected to take approximately 14 months and be complete by December 2017.

The new bridge will be constructed on the same horizontal alignment as the existing bridge, which was constructed in 1946, and will be raised to accommodate the required hydraulic clearances over the creek for a single-span bridge.

VDOT is warning motorists to expect delays at the construction site, and encourages them to visit www.va511.org, call 511, listen to highway advisory radio station 1680 AM or call the traffic information line at 361-3016 for current traffic and travel information.