The Bristol City Council will get an update Tuesday night on projects to replace and rehabilitate three bridges that are currently in poor condition.
The projects were approved for funding by the Virginia Department of Transportation’s State of Good Repair program. The money is a mix of state and federal funds used to improve or replace eligible structures.
The bridge on Goodson Street over Beaver Creek and the bridge on Oak Street over the Norfolk Southern tracks will be replaced. The bridge on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard over Beaver Creek will be partially replaced and partially rehabilitated, according to Jake Chandler, the city’s director of public works.
All the bridges are in poor condition, and the Oak Street Bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic since 2018, he said.
“VDOT is helping the city get these projects to bid, hopefully, by June 2026. We are unsure of the cost at this time. … Once the project is bid, we will know the cost of the projects,” Chandler said in an email response to questions on Monday.
The design consultant for the city, Whitman, Requardt & Associates, will provide the update on the projects.
The State of Good Repair program provides funding for bridges in poor or fair condition that are owned by VDOT or localities, according to the VDOT website. Damaged or deteriorated elements are preserved, reconstructed or replaced in the most practical and cost-effective manner and steps are taken to mitigate future deterioration, it states.
Council members are also expected to appoint an interim city attorney during Tuesday’s meeting. Randy Eads, who served as both city manager and city attorney, resigned earlier this month to take a job as general counsel for Jay Jones, the state’s new attorney general.
The city has started the process of hiring a new city manager and city officials have said they will hire a separate city attorney once the new city manager is on board. In the meantime, Tamrya Spradline, assistant city manager, is serving as interim city manager.
Here’s the agenda for the meeting, which is at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 300 Lee St.
