Normal bridge repair

STAFF REPORT

Standard maintenance was the reason Virginia Department of Transportation Public Affairs Officer Michelle Earl gave for Exit 14 being shut down Tuesday night.
According to Earl, workers were doing ordinary patching on the bridge substructure and several beams need repair.
Earl also said that this isn’t the first time that exit had been closed for maintenance.
“We’ve closed the ramp in the past. We have to keep our workers safe and the public safe,” she said.
The ramp was scheduled to be closed from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and Earl said they have no plans to close the ramp for a second night unless the weather gets bad or something else slows the crew down.
Earl also said that the shut down and repairs were not related to Wal-Mart.
“It had nothing to do with that,” she said.
According to Earl, while the department’s plans for the interchange improvements that would accommodate the business have been approved by the Federal Highway Administration, they’re waiting on the town of Abingdon to move forward one way or the other.