In Design: Rockingham County – Route 11 Bridge over I-81, Exit 257 at Mauzy

This project is located on Route 11 (Lee Highway) in Rockingham County.  The bridge over Interstate 81 at exit 257 will be replaced with a new structure.  The current bridge was built in 1965 and is nearing the end of its service life. 

The proposed bridge will be constructed approximately 60 feet to the south of the existing bridge. The project includes realigning the bridge approaches. The new structure will have two lanes with left-turn lanes at about the same elevation as the existing crossing.

Additionally, the intersection of the northbound I-81 exit and entrance ramps with Route 11 will be signalized to improve the traffic operations of the interchange.

Two lanes of traffic will be maintained on Route 11 during construction. All on and off ramps will be maintained as well.  During bridge construction I-81 closures may be necessary to set beams.  Any closures would be conducted at night to minimize the impact to traffic.

In 2011 Route 11 had an average daily traffic count of 3,600 vehicles per day.  By the design year of 2039 the estimated average daily traffic volume is 9,170 vehicles per day.

Benefits 

This project improves safety on Route 11 by replacing a deteriorating bridge structure with a new bridge that is able to support modern traffic both in volume and vehicle weights.