Project work hinges on weather

View larger image The Senseny Road bridge over Interstate 81 will receive $1.04 million funding for a redecking project originally scheduled to start last March. Work on the project is now tentatively set to start in the next month, depending on weather. Dennis Grundman/Daily

Redecking was originally scheduled to start in mid-March of last year

By Candace Sipos -- csipos@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- Work on the Senseny Road bridge across Interstate 81, which was originally scheduled to start in mid-March of last year, might finally get wings in the next month, according to Robert Good, area construction engineer out of VDOT's Staunton District office.

But that time frame might get pushed back further, depending on the weather.

"The work we're planning on doing is weather-sensitive. We don't want to get in there too soon and close the road ... and not be productive," Good said. "But the sooner we get started, the sooner we can get done."

VDOT officials hope to have the roughly five-month project done by Aug. 10, before school starts, he added. VDOT officials wanted to start on the project last summer, but they didn't want to slow traffic during the Cal Ripken World Series.

"We wanted to try to keep the considerations of the stakeholders ... in mind," he said.
Construction would have temporarily shut down the Bridgeforth Drive entrance to Jim Barnett Park off Cork Street, which may have caused traffic delays, John Bishop, transportation planner for Frederick County, told the Daily in October.

He also said that the contractor suggested closing down the bridge entirely for some of the project, but county officials did not support that idea.

Instead, one lane of traffic will be open throughout the process, controlled by temporary signals on the bridge, according to Sandy Myers, VDOT's Staunton District spokeswoman.

Good's team, along with the contractor, Infrastructure Corp. of America, based in Brentwood, Tenn., had been debating on what type of material to use for the redecking project. They opted for a stronger, lightweight concrete that will reduce stress on the existing substructure components, according to Good.

It doesn't last longer than other materials and is usually more expensive, but they felt it was right for this job, he said.

According to VDOT reports, the almost $9 million contract with ICA includes 23 projects in northwestern Virginia. Roughly $1.04 million of that funding will go toward the Senseny Road bridge redecking.

There is an even less defined timeline for the planned 10-foot-wide multi-use pedestrian and bicycle path on Senseny Road from Greenwood Road to the Interstate 81 overpass.
The county has not officially received all of the funding for this endeavor, and Bishop's team is still ironing out the design and logistics for the path, he said.

The path, which will end up being a paved shoulder area, is not being planned for construction during the same time as the bridge redecking. But Bishop is hopeful that it will not fall through altogether.

"I think it's going to come together," he said. "It's got a good shot at least."