Passing is no longer allowed on the Robert O. Norris Jr. Bridge. VDOT closed the bridge for around two hours overnight Friday to paint double yellow lines the full length of the nearly two-mile long span linking Middlesex and Lancaster counties. According to a VDOT news release, the closing of the bridge was needed because in past pavement marking operations’ wet paint damaged drivers’ cars and the cars damaged the freshly painted lines.
The new passing restriction is in response to at least two serious crashes on the bridge this summer, including one that claimed two lives.
“VDOT is removing the passing zones to encourage safe travel, at safe speeds, over the bridge,” according to a VDOT news release.
“The posted speed limit on the Norris Bridge is 45 mph. Traffic conditions will be monitored and VDOT may adjust the pattern if needed in the future.
No decision has been made on the traffic pattern on the replacement bridge. Construction will begin on a replacement Norris Bridge in 2028.”
Other bridge work
VDOT crews also last week removed an existing strip of steel edge forming under the bridge for the safety of watercraft below the bridge, reported VDOT Fredericksburg District Senior Communications Specialist Alexis Breeden. Boater Tommy Harlow, who was fishing about 30 feet from the bridge Monday, Aug. 18, witnessed concrete falling from it and a metal strip coming loose when a truck drove over it, the Rappahannock Record reported.
However the Norris Bridge remains safe for travel, said Breeden. “The removal of the steel edge forming does not affect the structural capacity of the Norris Bridge. This work is to ensure the continued safety of marine watercraft on the Rappahannock River.”
