Route 61 (MacArthur Avenue) Bridge Replacement

The design-build team of G.A. & F.C. Wagman, Inc. and JMT completed a challenging project located on Route 61 in Giles County, VA. The project, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), cost approximately $15.6 million.

Our client sought to replace the existing structurally-deficient MacArthur Avenue Bridge, which crosses the New River, Route 460, and Old Virginia Avenue, with a new two-lane bridge with two sidewalks and bicycle lanes, along with the reconstruction of the roadway approaches on both ends of the proposed structure.

The centerpiece was a nine-span, 1,141-foot-long replacement bridge over a waterway and approach roadway geometry at each end of the bridge. The total project length was nearly one-half mile.

JMT’s scope of work included preliminary and final design for the bridge, road, and utilities; acquiring all environmental permits and approvals; providing quality assurance and quality control for design; acquiring all required permanent and temporary right-of-way; maintaining traffic; and providing overall project management.

Described by the Virginia Department of Transportation as a “utility relocation project with a bridge on it,” the project also included the relocation of water, sewer, gas, telecommunications, and electrical lines that serve the Town of Narrows. In addition, JMT incorporated a number of aesthetically-pleasing, context-sensitive solutions into the project, including concrete surfaces with an ashlar stone finish, overlooks on the bridge, a park and ride facility with a passenger shelter, a stormwater bioretention facility, and street lighting along the entire length of the project.

The project required phased construction in order to maintain two lanes of traffic and pedestrian access across the bridge during construction.