Delays anticipated at canal bridge on U.S. 1

Expect delays on U.S. 1 in the Rappahannock Canal bridge area in Fredericksburg next week as crews do preliminary work toward future replacement of the span.

Starting Monday and continuing throughout the week, there will be alternating lane closures while workers take bore samples at the bridge near James Monroe High School. The work will be done from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Actual replacement of the bridge is a ways off. Construction isn't planned to start until the second half of 2017 at the earliest. The project is still in the design phase.

The bridge, built in 1945 and reconstructed in 1974, is rated structurally deficient, which means it must be monitored and/or repaired, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation bridge guidelines.

--Scott Shenk