Old Remington bridge deemed ‘deficient’

In places, the 1930 truss bridge near Remington, spanning the Rappahannock River into Culpeper County, shows obvious signs of wear and tear and age.

Portions of the concrete curbing have crumbled away, exposing steel reinforcement rods now coated with rust. In two areas, cracks in asphalt extend from one side to the other of the 24-foot wide structure.

Of less concern, dark green paint peals and flecks from the network of steel beams.

Because of deterioration to the bridge’s deck and superstructure, which “support the driving surface,” the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) judged the bridge “structurally deficient” and needing replacement, spokeswoman Stacy Londrey said.

On a federal government “sufficiency rating” scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the top score, the Remington bridge received only a 14.2, according to VDOT.

While the bridge remains safe, VDOT in 1991 posted weight limits for its use.

For single-unit vehicles, including schools buses and ambulances, weight cannot exceed 11 tons. For dual-unit vehicles like tractor-trailers, it cannot surpass 15 tons.

The state rebuilt the bridge in 1975.

An average 1,260 vehicles per day cross the bridge, according to VDOT.

It would cost $4.8 million to replace it, with the federal government contributing all but $93,000, which would come from Virginia.

While VDOT’s Culpeper District office recommends replacing the 269-foot-long bridge, no final decision has been made to do so, Londrey said.

“We’re still early in the [review] process,” which will take a few years and include meetings, hearings and studies to determine, among other things, the bridge’s historic value and the proposed one’s environmental effects, she said.

VDOT’s six-year construction plan indicates advertising for construction bids to replace the bridge wouldn’t occur until 2016

Mary Root of Remington, a land surveyor and member of Fauquier’s architectural review board (ARB), believes the bridge should be restored, not replaced.

“It deserves another chance,” Root said. “It’s a beautiful bridge, and it’s one of the few examples of [a truss bridge] left in Virginia. It exemplifies the American Industrial Age.”

Root said work has begun to put the bridge on the Virginia Landmarks Register and National Trust Historic Sites list.

Truss bridges “are disappearing at an alarming rate, and they’re fixable,” she said.

The county ARB prepared and forwarded to the county transportation committee an extensive list of recommendations to preserve the bridge. The committee wants the county board of supervisors to approve it. The board will take up the matter at its meeting Thursday.

Recommended repairs include an array of structural, safety, aesthetic, and runoff and stormwater management improvements.

They also call for a pedestrian walkway “external” to the bridge and signs to reroute large trucks.

While Root has no idea how much the proposed improvements would cost, she believes it would be a lot less than the $4.8 million price tag to replace the bridge.

Root believes the existing bridge provides a more inviting experience than would a modern one.

“You know you’re crossing a river” on the existing bridge, whereas modern crossings effective get absorbed in the road-scape, she said.

A new bridge also would be broader than the existing 24-foot-wide one, making it easier to speed, Root said.

“You don’t want people speeding into town,” she said. “I believe a narrower bridge keeps it safe.”

Root has urged the Remington town council to support the bridge’s restoration.

The council wanted a VDOT representative to explain the project at its meeting on Monday but that could not be arranged.

“I don’t think we have enough information to know what to do with the bridge,” Councilman Stan Heaney said. “I think it would be better to have a wider bridge. It would be safer, though there is the history” of the existing one to consider before the council makes a decision.