| Interstate 77 New River Bridge Construction |
I-77 in Virginia crosses over the New River and US-52 on twin high-level bridges, in Wythe County, 5 miles south of Fort Chiswell and 2 miles north of Poplar Camp. The 9.2-mile-long section of I-77 from VA-69 at Poplar Camp to I-81 at Fort Chiswell opened on December 4, 1978, completing I-77 from North Carolina to I-81; and that section includes the New River Bridges.
Here are some photos of the bridge under construction in 1977 and 1978. These photos were taken by personnel of the Hillsville Residency Office of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), and I am using them by their permission.
Above, looking north, New River in foreground.
Piers have been completed and continuous steel beams are being placed from pier
to pier.
See
large more dense image
(272 kilobytes).
Above, looking south. Steel beam superstructure
has been placed on the piers, and reinforced concrete roadway deck is being constructed
on the northbound bridge.
See
large more dense image
(120 kilobytes).
Above, looking south. Steel beam superstructure
has been placed on the piers, and reinforced concrete roadway deck is being constructed
on the northbound bridge, with the steel re-bar visible with steel forms under
the re-bar, and several concrete deck pours have already been placed.
See
large more
dense image (136 kilobytes).
Above, looking south. Steel beam superstructure
has been placed on the piers, and reinforced concrete roadway deck is being constructed
on the northbound bridge. This view is looking downward between the two new bridges
under construction. The tractor-trailer on the road below is on US-52, which was
the major north-south primary highway that I-77 was built parallel to in Southwest
Virginia.
See
large more dense image
(140 kilobytes).
Above, looking south. Steel beam superstructure
has been placed on the piers, and reinforced concrete roadway deck is being constructed
on the northbound bridge, with several concrete deck pours have already been placed.
See large
more dense image (106 kilobytes).
Lead article - Interstate 77 New River Bridge
Copyright © 2002-2004 by Scott Kozel. All rights reserved. Reproduction, reuse, or distribution without permission is prohibited.
By Scott M. Kozel, Roads to the Future
(Created 3-1-2002, updated 4-2-2004)