Contractor finally gets steel needed to finish
by Larry Chowning –
Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) officials announced last week that Barricks Mill Road (Route 625) in Syringa reopened to traffic on Monday, Dec. 6.
The new bridge located at the head of Mill Creek is a 40-foot long concrete slab structure, and replaced a 1971 22-foot long wooden timber bridge that was classified as structurally deficient, said Saluda Resident Administrator Lee McKnight to the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Dec. 7.
New black top pavement was laid on the bridge surface and extends along both sides of the bridge’s approaches, said McKnight.
The resident administrator said that the three-mile detour that was required during construction and started in June was lifted on Tuesday, Dec. 7. The bridge completion was delayed last month when the contractor building the bridge could not get enough steel to finish the job.
It was reported then that there was a nationwide shortage of steel tied to lack of supply and over demand for steel created by the current construction boom. It was also said that the shortage was due in part to transportation issues both associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Middlesex County Hartfield District Supervisor John Koontz said at the Tuesday, Dec. 7, meeting that he and his constituents are glad that the bridge is completed and the detour has been lifted. The bridge is located in the Hartfield District.
