VDOT News - Fredericksburg

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Scheduled openings for marine traffic will resume at 11 a.m. today at the Route 223 (Old Ferry Road) bridge over Milford Haven between Gwynn’s Island and mainland Mathews County.

The bridge will resume opening at six scheduled times a day, at 2 a.m., 5 a.m., 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 7 p.m., and 10 p.m.

The bridge has been closed to marine traffic since the swing span became locked in the closed position on Wednesday, July 5, during afternoon high temperatures. Crews worked overnight during the past two evenings to repair the swing span.

Built in 1938, the bridge over Milford Haven opens approximately 3,000 times a year, which is more than any other state-maintained movable bridge in Virginia.

The bridge’s navigational clearance is 11 feet vertically and 80 feet horizontally when closed. Watercraft that cannot navigate underneath the bridge within this clearance requires an opening.

A bridge maintenance project is underway to improve the condition of the bridge’s mechanical elements connected with the movable swing span. Work is anticipated to be complete in fall 2023.

When complete, the project will restore the ability of the bridge to open on demand for marine traffic.

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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.

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