Completion of new U.S. 17 span set for Dec. 2027
U.S. Route 17 northbound crosses the Dragon Run on a bridge that is 95 years old. It’s narrow, floods at times, and has been struck by vehicles eight times in the past three years, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), which plans to remedy the deficiencies.
Construction of a new wider bridge is scheduled to begin in March 2026 with completion by December 2027, weather permitting, said Alexis Breeden, senior communications specialist for VDOT’s Fredericksburg District.
In addition, cost estimates have been updated to $14.6 million, down several million from cost estimates earlier in the project’s development, VDOT said.
The existing bridge has a rail-to-rail width of 23 feet. The new bridge will be 40 feet wide and will have shoulders, and it will be 10 feet higher than the existing bridge, explained Breeden. The new bridge will be 165 feet long, compared to the 112 feet length of the existing bridge, which opened in 1931.
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