Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 22, 1991 TAG: 9102220506
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The bridge, used by 3,200 vehicles daily, will be shut at 9 a.m. Monday when Lanford Brothers, a Roanoke contractor, begins work on the $200,000 project.
The narrow two-lane structure, built in 1890, will be raised 3 1/2 feet so trains carrying tractor-trailer truck containers stacked on top of each other can pass beneath it.
The railroad will pay for raising the 315-foot-long bridge. Some repairs also will be made.
William Clark, city public works director, said Thursday that closing the bridge will cause inconvenience for some motorists, but traffic engineers don't think it will result in any major traffic problems.
The contractor hopes to complete the project within two months, but officials said it could take three.
The alternative routes are the Williamson Road viaduct, Second Street crossing and the Fifth Street bridge, but no special detours will be designated, city Traffic Engineer Bob Bengtson said.
Clark said the city would have prefered that the closing be delayed until a proposed new bridge over the Second Street railroad crossing is built.
But, he said, this didn't suit NS' schedule because it wants to start routing double-stacked trains through Roanoke this summer.
The bridge is the last of 22 between Norfolk and Bristol that have been raised or changed to accomodate double-stack trains.
NS already uses double-stacked trains on other parts of its system.
The railroad has spent $5 million on the clearance project at the 22 locations. Bob Auman, an NS official, said the use of double-stack trains will make the railroad more competitive with the trucking industry.
Clark said the daily traffic count on the First Street bridge has increased by 300 since the Jefferson Street leg of the Hunter Viaduct was closed last year. He said this includes 160 additional vehicles that use the bridge between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. weekdays.
NS has agreed to try to prevent trains from stopping traffic at the Second Street crossing while the First Street bridge is closed, Clark said.
The city will build a new bridge across the tracks at Second Street as part of an inner-loop traffic plan that was developed to compensate for closing part of the Hunter Viaduct for the Dominion Tower office building.
Construction on the Second Street project won't begin until after the First Street bridge is reopened, Clark said.
The First Street bridge will be retained for the Henry Street revival plan and other development that might occur as part of the Hotel Roanoke renovation and convention center project. Clark said the bridge ultimately might be used only for pedestrians, depending on the Henry Street plan and related development.
by CNB