Route VA-288 Construction - April 2002
Here
are photos of Route VA-288 under construction, taken in mid April, 2002.
Above, looking north, heavy excavation for the construction of the VA-288
roadways. Large backhoes and large dump trucks are being used to excavate this
cut. There will be a major earthwork cut in this area, for the highway mainline
roadways that descend downgrade to the James River Bridge. VA-650 River Road
will cross VA-288 on a bridge, and the bridge is being built where the crane
can be seen in the distance; and River Road is temporarily closed at that point
so that the overpass bridge can be constructed in the same location as the
existing road. This is in Goochland County.
Above, looking north, heavy excavation for the construction of the VA-288
roadways. This photo was taken from the same vantage point as the previous
photo, but it was taken with a 135mm (2.7x) telephoto lens, instead of the 50mm
(1.0x) regular lens used previously. The River Road bridge construction can be seen; its
abutments, piers and beams have been placed.
Above, looking north, heavy excavation for the construction of the VA-288
roadways. This photo was taken from the near the River Road overpass construction.
This was on a weekend, and the group of parked earthwork haul trucks can be seen in the
distance on the grade.
Above, looking south, photo of construction of the 3,642-foot-long VA-288 James
River Bridge, and major earthwork cut on the north side of the river. About 60
bridge columns have been built, and about 60 pier caps on top of the columns.
Pier construction in the river is nearing completion. Beams and deck construction
is underway on both bridges. Construction is moving rapidly. The bridge will be
of a concrete girder design (steel girders for the over-river spans), with two spans
each with two lanes and full right shoulders. North of the river is Goochland
County, and south of the river is Powhatan County. The James River is about
200 feet wide at this point. The length of these bridges is dictated by the large
flood plain of the James River, since a large flood such as the ones associated
with Hurricane Camille in 1969 and Hurricane Agnes in 1972 (downgraded to
tropical storms by the time that they dumped huge amounts of rainfall in the
western part of Virginia), can cause the river to rise 20 to 25 feet above flood
stage.
©
Copyright 2002 by Scott Kozel, and all photos taken by same. All rights
reserved.
Lead page for Richmond Beltway (I-295 and VA-288)
By Scott M. Kozel, Roads to the Future
(Created 6-1-2002)