CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The Proffit Rd. bridge over the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks remained closed Thursday, and the Virginia Department of Transportation told Cville Right Now there is no timetable for it to reopen. VDOT is continuing to assess the situation and a release said the assessment and repairs could take multiple months. The bridge has been closed since Tuesday.

“We wanted to make sure our top priority is to make sure drivers are safe,” said Alexis Mehretab, VDOT Culpeper District Communications Manager. “So, when we identified some things with the bridge we had to do an emergency closure.”

Mehretab said the bridge’s piers – or vertical structural supports – are being evaluated.  Mehretab said VDOT has not identified any single event that led to the issue at the bridge, which has a weight limit of 16 tons.

“What we identified is that the piers need work, and to make sure it’s safe to drive on we had to immediately close it,” Mehretab explained. “So our engineers are working to identify those problems assessing the bridge entirely but initially what we see is those bridge piers need those repairs.”

“VDOT is coordinating access to the site so crews can complete a more detailed assessment and determine the work needed to reopen the bridge safely,” according to a release. “The assessment and repairs could take a few months, depending on what crews find. VDOT does not yet have an estimated reopening date.”

Through traffic is being detoured during the closure, according to a VDOT release, being directed to Route 20 (Stony Point Road), Route 250 (Richmond Road), Route 2500 (John Warner Parkway), Route 631 (Rio Road East), and Route 29 (Seminole Trail).

Signs and message boards are in place to alert motorists to the closure and detour.