New Robertson Bridge project officially breaks ground

It’s supposed to soften the traffic crunch for Danville’s drivers and includes a multi-use trail for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Federal, state and local officials broke ground on the Robertson Bridge project Monday morning on Riverside Drive near the construction site. The project was made possible by $23 million from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act passed in 2009.

“This is a very exciting day to be putting shovels in the ground for this project,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th District, during the ceremony. The project will total $31.2 million, including design, construction, right of way and other expenses.

In early 2009, Perriello, then-Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, and then-city manager Lyle Lacy pushed for federal funding for the project.

The new bridge, expected to be complete in August 2012, will be about 940 feet long and 84.5 feet wide. It will be median-divided and include five lanes and a multi-use trail for bicyclists and pedestrians. It is expected to ease traffic pressure and decrease delays to the bridge and nearby streets.

The current two-lane Robertson Bridge, where congestion can be a problem, was built in 1940. About 20,000 vehicles a day travel the bridge, said Danville Mayor Sherman Saunders. Its age and design do not allow for widening, he said.

Saunders said the new bridge plans include a 24-inch water line that will be used to serve the new industrial mega-park on Berry Hill Road, as well as a 12-inch natural gas line. The new bridge will spur economic development, Saunders said.

“This is the perfect example of a focused and determined city,” Saunders said.

Officials also hope it will make the area around it — including Schoolfield — more attractive to prospective businesses.

Robert H. Cary, the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Lynchburg District administrator, said the end results of the project worth the inconvenience. The Robertson Bridge project is “high-quality” and will be built on time and in an environmentally friendly manner, Cary said.

The bridge will be replaced in parts so there will always be a bridge for traffic crossing the Dan River at that location. Northbound lanes will be built first, said John M. Jordan Jr., senior vice president of English Construction, the project’s contractor. Then, traffic will shift to those new lanes while the old bridge comes down to make way for the remaining lanes.

Wayne Fedora, assistant division administrator for the Federal Highway Administration in Virginia, said, “We have a bright future ahead of us on this project and others like it.”