The Route 1 northbound traffic shift at the Potomac Creek bridge in Stafford County is now set for Friday, March 5 after being postponed last month.
Both northbound travel lanes will remain open. But as construction on the bridge replacement project enters the next phase, northbound traffic will be shifted around 20 feet to the right to cross Potomac Creek. This shift allows crews to build the northbound lanes on the new bridge.
Message boards are being posted today to alert drivers to the upcoming traffic shift.
Route 1 southbound lanes will be slightly narrowed in the work zone.
Northbound traffic will remain in this pattern until the new bridge opens in July 2022.
In early 2022, Route 1 southbound traffic will be shifted into the newly-built northbound lanes over Potomac Creek. Crews will then build the new southbound lanes.
Route 1 will remain four lanes in the work zone throughout the project. Drivers can expect periodic single lane closures in the work zone during off-peak travel times.
The Route 1 bridge over Potomac Creek is located between I-95 interchanges at Route 630 (Courthouse Road) and Route 8900 (Centreport Parkway).
Project Background
The Route 1 bridge over Potomac Creek replacement project is needed due to the condition of the existing bridge, which was built in 1930 and is structurally deficient. The $6.9 million project is funded through the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) State of Good Repair program.
The new bridge will have four travel lanes and a slightly wider bridge deck.
Around 21,000 vehicles a day travel Route 1 in the section where the Potomac Creek bridge is located, according to a 2019 VDOT traffic count.
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