New King and Queen bridge completed, ending 12-mile detour

KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- A months-long bridge replacement project in King and Queen County is now finished, putting an end to a 12-mile detour.

On Friday, Dec. 12, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) announced that the bridge replacement project along Rock Spring Road has been completed, allowing the road to be reopened.

Efforts to replace the bridge in question, which crosses over Exol Swamp, began in February. The previous bridge was decades old, having been built in 1965. It was about 51 feet long and about 24 feet wide.

The new bridge is about 74 feet long and 27 feet wide, with 11-foot-wide travel lanes and 1.5-foot-wide shoulders. It is also open to vehicles of all legal weights, VDOT said.

New bridge over Exol Swamp along Rock Spring Road in King and Queen County. (Photo: VDOT)

Since the project began, rather than being able to cross the bridge, area drivers had to take a 12-mile detour.

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An average of 130 vehicles a day travel along Rock Spring Road, VDOT said.