Emmaus Church Road project causing frustrations, expected to be completed by Spring 2027

The ongoing replacement of the Emmaus Church Road (Route 106) bridge that spans across Interstate 64 has already caused a lot of headaches for many. And New Kent supervisors wanted reasons why it was being done at this time.

Philip Frazier of Virginia’s Department of Transportation (VDOT) spoke on the project at Monday night’s regular county meeting of the board of supervisors.

Currently, the bridge has one lane of traffic open with a temporary traffic light. The light has caused several delays and back-ups, particularly in the morning time. Those concerns have spilled over to county leaders, who asked for an explanation at Monday night’s meeting.

“We are developing the I-64 widening with the replacement of the Emmaus Church Road Bridge replacement,” Frazier said. “This is something similar that we did on the Fifth Street Bridge in the City of Richmond.

“We had similar concerns, and we had traffic backing up on the interstate and it was causing a lot of concerns,” he added.

The VDOT representative highlighted the concerns and the importance and replacing the bridge at this time.

“The Emmaus Church Road Bridge is structurally deficient and is beyond simple maintenance,” Frazier continued. “Structurally deficient absolutely does not mean that the bridge is unsafe. It needs to be made very clear that the bridge is structurally deficient, but that does not mean that it is unsafe for use.”

Frazier said the bridge needs to be completed in multiple phases. Due to the bridge’s narrow roadway and deficiencies, it requires good repair funds. He added that the bridge does not have enough space to maintain two lanes of traffic, hence the traffic light.

Currently, the west side of the bridge is currently being demolished while the other side is currently being utilized for all traffic. Frazier expects that the process will take seven to nine months before traffic is flipped to the newly constructed half of the bridge. He added that the traffic light is necessary for the multiple phases and believed that any detour would have major impacts and headaches for citizens.

The VDOT representative also said he has received calls asking why the 53-year old bridge was not having work done during the daytime. He responded, saying that demolition of the bridge takes place at night to minimize light traffic.

“The last thing we are going to do is shutdown a lane of Interstate 64 during the middle of the day because that is when we have our higher volumes,” Frazier commented.

He continued, saying that alternate routes can be used, but also added that the area will be monitored by the sheriff’s department. Frazier added that speeding in the area continues to be an issue, as well as people crossing the bridge when it has a red light, which is now illegal.

According to the National Bridge Inspection Standards, the organization that uses a scale from zero to nine to rate the sufficiency and safety of the bridge, the Emmaus Church Road Bridge is rated as a four, meaning it needs to be monitored, but it does not mean that it is unsafe, or it will collapse.

The completion of the project is estimated to be Spring 2027.