Major Initiatives: Robert O. Norris Bridge Replacement Project

About the Project 

Funding to replace the Robert O. Norris Bridge on Route 3 over the Rappahannock River was confirmed by the Commonwealth Transportation Board in 2021, when it voted to approve the Special Structures 50-Year Long-Term Plan. The plan includes $390.3 million to replace the Norris Bridge with a two-lane bridge with shoulders and a higher rail. Funding to replace the bridge is currently programmed to begin in fiscal year 2036.

Preliminary engineering work will provide the foundation for successful design and construction phases of the project.

The Six-Year Improvement Program for FY2023-2028, through the Special Structures allocations, includes $9.9 million for preliminary engineering work necessary for the Norris Bridge replacement. An additional $5 million for preliminary engineering activities was recently included in the state budget and have been included in the preliminary engineering project budget.

Preliminary engineering activities that must be completed ahead of construction:

• Survey work (complete)
• Norris Bridge site assessment review (fall 2022-summer 2023)
• Geotechnical review (fall 2022-fall 2024)
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review (can begin after conclusion of the site assessment)
• Right of way acquisition (would begin after conclusion of the NEPA review)

What’s Underway Now

A Norris Bridge Site Assessment by consultant AECOM is underway through summer 2023 to help VDOT recommend a location for the new bridge.

While VDOT anticipates the replacement bridge will be built upstream from the existing bridge, the review will help us understand how the work zone would be staged to build the new bridge and demolish the existing bridge, and how that would affect the site recommended for the new crossing.

Soil samples are being gathered through spring 2024 for the geotechnical review. The geotechnical review will be completed under a contract with RS&H, Inc., with project support from SaLUT-TLB, Inc., and Whitman, Requardt and Associates, LLP. 

This review will help VDOT understand the foundation that the new bridge will be built upon, and is necessary for the design of the replacement bridge. Minimal impacts are anticipated to vehicle traffic and boat traffic during this geotechnical review work. No lane closures will be needed on the bridge, and no navigational channel closures will be needed in the Rappahannock River underneath the bridge.

Following these reviews, the next step will be the project design, and the required environmental review to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, also known as NEPA.

Public comment on the proposed location and design of the replacement bridge will be essential to this environmental review, and to the overall project. Public opportunities for comment and involvement will be widely advertised so we can maximize the community’s participation in the project.

About the Bridge

The Norris Bridge carries Route 3 traffic over the Rappahannock River between Lancaster and Middlesex counties. It carries approximately 9,500 vehicles a day, and opened to traffic in 1957. It is a two-lane bridge, and each travel lane is 10 feet wide. The bridge is 1.9 miles long. Vertical clearance in channel span for marine traffic is 110 feet. Vehicles weighing up to 45 tons are permitted to cross the bridge.

Benefits 

• Replacement Norris Bridge would be a two-lane bridge with shoulders and a higher rail
• Maintains direct connection between the eastern ends of the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula, since the nearest available detour is at the Downing Bridge in the Tappahannock area
• Provides crossing open to vehicles of all weights