Repairs begin on Virginia station, bridge

Written by jrood

Five years after a federal earmark was announced for repairs to the Virginia Railway Express train station in Fredericksburg, Va., work has begun, the Freelance Star reports. Temporary chain-link fences and orange barrels surrounded the construction zone Sept. 20. The first phase will run until Oct. 15. The entire rehabilitation project will take a year.

The construction will
improve a clogged drainage system on the station’s railroad bridge. The bridge
has no central draining point for water. Trapped water on the bridge freezes
and thaws, causing the concrete surface to chip and flake. The falling concrete
creates a safety hazard for pedestrians passing below on four streets: Caroline
and Princess Anne, Sophia and Charles.

Because of the available
budget, the repair work on this project is limited to where the bridge crosses
two streets, Caroline and Princess Anne.

The station repair
project originated in 2005, when then-1st District Rep. Jo Ann Davis secured a
$2.6-million earmark in a federal transportation bill for station repairs.
Davis died from breast cancer in 2007. The money was appropriated over fiscal
years 2007-11, leading to a delay in the start of the work.

Train passengers and
downtown drivers and pedestrians will experience a few disruptions during the
repairs. Construction will also impact the handicapped access ramps leading to
the station platform, since they are under the area where work is being done. Both
ramps were supposed to be closed 24 hours a day, with passengers being directed
to use the station’s elevator. But the elevator is out of service until the end
of this week, so the ramps will close from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with temporary
openings for anyone who needs to use them during those hours. If the elevator
is back in service next week, the ramps will close completely through Oct. 15.

Also, the north end of
the station platform will be closed during the first phase of construction.
This means some rail car doors will not open on the platform.

Virginia Railway Express
sent an e-mail to passengers alerting them to the construction and encouraging
them to ask train conductors for details on rail car doors.

VRE is managing the work of
Trinity Construction Group Inc. of Culpeper, Va., the contractor hired by the
VRE Operations Board for the project.

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