Falmouth bridge concrete work set to start

Crews will start chipping away the decayed concrete sidewalks and railings on the 69-year-old Falmouth bridge Monday night in a rehab project set to run into November.

The work will start on the northbound side and will be done during the week from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

These orange paint marks are prep work for a project that will fix the concrete on sidewalks and railings on the Falmouth bridge.

Some of the work will be loud, with jackhammers and other equipment being used to break apart the concrete. VDOT says the bridge will be reduced to one lane while the work is being done and pedestrians will not be able to use the side of the bridge where work is being done.

The Falmouth Bridge is a major thoroughfare in the Fredericksburg area, handling about 30,000 vehicle trips per day. Built in 1943, the bridge is labeled “functionally obsolete,” because it can no longer handle the heavy traffic flow. It also has surpassed the 50-year life cycle set by federal guidelines.

VDOT says the bridge is safe. It last passed its last inspection in October 2011, but with poor ratings.

The sidewalks are in poor shape, with reinforcing bars protruding from several sections of the crumbled sidewalks, especially on the southbound city end of the bridge, where a metal plate covers a bad spot. The lampposts were removed years ago because of the deteriorating concrete.

The $383,000 project is supposed to be finished in November.

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