Barrett's Ferry Bridge

The Barrett's Ferry Bridge, officially known as the Judith Stewart Dresser Bridge, is a fixed-span bridge which carries State Route 5 across the Chickahominy River between Charles City County and James City County in eastern Virginia. It connects popular tourism destinations of the James River Plantations with Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown. The current bridge, which opened on January 24, 2009, replaced the deteriorating 70-year-old bridge.1939 bridgeThe original bridge, built in 1939 by Tidewater Construction, was a swing-span movable bridge. It was a two-lane facility with a history of opening-closing failures and expensive repairs, as well as height restrictions due to clearance being 13'11" tall. It functioned as a swing-span bridge, pivoting on its axis to allow boats to pass through an opening rather than lifting upward like a drawbridge. The bridge was 2,025 feet long and was 24 feet wide from curb to curb. It was built using timber pilings and had a concrete and steel driving deck. Among repair problems as the bridge aged was shifting of the timber pilings. The current bridge has a height restriction for boats of only 12 feet except when opened.VDOT closed the bridge several times for limited periods in 2004 when the swing mechanism failed to completely close the bridge, said state officials. The closure inconvenienced residents who regularly used the bridge, forcing on them a 63-mile detour to cross the river. Some frustrated residents parked vehicles at each end of the disabled bridge and either walked or rode golf carts across it. That was when the state decided to replace the aging bridge, which was traveled by an estimated 3,500 vehicles per day, said VDOT Williamsburg Resident Administrator Todd Halacy.