QUANTICO--For trains, the single-lane bridge crossing Quantico Creek is the railroad equivalent of the Springfield Interchange.
It's the No. 1 choke point between Richmond and Washington, forcing trains to wait 15 minutes or more for their turn to cross the tiny creek.
A $26 million project to build a second railroad bridge across the creek is under way.
The new bridge, slated to be finished in early 2007, should eliminate the bottleneck for the 60 Virginia Railway Express, Amtrak and CSX trains that use the corridor daily.
"Of the 51 miles of track on the Fredericksburg line that VRE operates service, it's the 1,750 feet across Quantico Creek that causes us the most delays," said John Jenkins, a Prince William County supervisor and chairman of the VRE board.
"The reason is simple: This is the only stretch on the entire line between D.C. and Richmond that's single-track," he said. "Every train that comes through here must stop and wait for other trains to clear the bridge."
VRE board members, employees and reporters trooped out to the construction site yesterday for a look at the project.
Right now, two tracks approach the creek on its north and south sides, but they merge into one track just before crossing the water. Trains traveling from one side to the other often must stop and wait for other trains to clear the bridge.
The new steel and concrete bridge, being built by Abernathy Construction Corp. of Glen Allen, will include a second track and room for a third to be added later.
The new structure is going up just west of the existing bridge. Some of the pilings will be sunk 100 feet or more into the creek bottom.
Crews had originally planned to do most of their work from barges, meaning they would need to dredge 63,000 cubic yards of soil from the shallowest edges of the creek--enough soil to fill the Olympic pool in Sydney, Australia, 13 times.
However, rather than try to bring the heavy barges into the shallow areas, crews built a small "causeway" from the south bank of the creek out into the water.
That way, heavy equipment can be driven out to the barges, which will sit in deeper water. The effort reduced the amount of soil that needs to be dredged there to 11,000 cubic yards, lessening the impact on aquatic life, said Sirel Mouchantaf, director of construction and facilities for VRE.
The commuter rail agency is helping manage the project, which is paid for with $20 million in federal funds and another $6 million from the state.
CSX, which owns the railroad tracks, has agreed to let VRE add two more commuter trains each day once this project is finished. Existing VRE trains are down to standing-room only for some commuters.
The second track should eliminate half of the delays now experienced by trains in that corridor, said VRE Chief Executive Officer Dale Zehner.
"I like to call it 'the bridge to more,'" Zehner said. "More trains for us, more speed for us, more economic development and eventually more high-speed rail trains."
To reach EDIE GROSS: 540/374-5428 egross@freelancestar.com