VDOT News - Lynchburg

LYNCHBURG, Va. – On March 1, 2019, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) announced that the weight limit on the Route 57 (Halifax Road) Bridge over Banister River in Pittsylvania County was reduced following a recent routine inspection. Since that time, VDOT has had an opportunity to develop plans to ensure that this structure can continue to serve private and commercial vehicles adequately.

The 160-foot long structure, built in 1932, carries approximately 1300 vehicles per day, nine percent of which are trucks. While the bridge has served motorists well for the last 87 years, it was not designed to carry the vehicle weight it is currently carrying and this increased load weight is beginning to take a toll.

“VDOT recognizes that this structure is important to those who use it; it is to us as well. However, in its design year of 1931, the bridge was designed to carry a live load of two 15-ton (30,000 pounds) trucks passing,” said Dale R. Totten, PE, district maintenance engineer. “If we were designing a bridge today for this section of roadway, we would design a structure with a substantially greater load carrying capacity.”

Moving ahead VDOT will take the following steps:

• By mid-April, this structure will be reduced to one lane with a signal directing traffic across the middle of the bridge.
• Message boards and rumble strips will be placed in advance of the signal to alert motorists to this change.
• The signal will be monitored to ensure that signal timing is appropriate and that motorists are able to safely navigate the structure.
• In order to find options for a long-term solution VDOT will be further assessing the structure and sharing any findings by mid-summer.

Any concerns or questions may be addressed by contacting Kenneth Martin, Halifax Residency Administrator, at kenneth.martin@vdot.virginia.gov.

Information in VDOT news releases was accurate at the time the release was published. For the most current information about projects or programs, please visit the project or program Web pages. You may find those by searching by keyword in the search Virginia DOT box above.