VDOT News - Fredericksburg

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Through traffic on Route 644 (Rock Hill Church Road) in Stafford County will be detoured for an estimated four weeks in September and October to allow crews to install a temporary bridge over Aquia Creek.

A recent bridge inspection found deterioration in the bridge’s major elements. While a bridge replacement project is designed, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will install a single-lane, temporary bridge as an interim measure.

The temporary bridge can carry vehicles up to 40 tons, including emergency vehicles and school buses. Without the temporary bridge, the existing bridge would have been posted with an 11-ton weight limit.

Rock Hill Church Road will be closed on Monday, Sept. 21 at the Aquia Creek bridge, which is located between Dunbar Drive and Van Horn Lane.

Message boards will be posted to alert travelers to this temporary road closure. Signs will be posted to guide motorists along the recommended detour route, which is 8.3 miles:

• Route 610 (Garrisonville Road)
• Route 643 (Joshua Road)
• Route 627 (Mountain View Road)

View an online map of the detour route.

When Rock Hill Church Road reopens to traffic in mid-October, temporary traffic signals will be activated on both bridge approaches. The traffic signals will direct one-way, alternating traffic across the bridge.

The existing bridge was built in 1950 and underwent a major reconstruction in 1978.

Around 2,000 vehicles a day travel on Rock Hill Church Road, according to a 2019 VDOT traffic count.

Information on the replacement Aquia Creek bridge will be announced once a project schedule is developed. The project is fully funded for construction.

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VDOT’s 14-county Fredericksburg District includes the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford in the Fredericksburg area; Northumberland, Richmond, Lancaster and Westmoreland counties in the Northern Neck; Essex, Gloucester, King & Queen, King William, Mathews and Middlesex counties in the Middle Peninsula.

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.