The Virginia Department of Transportation will hold a design public hearing concerning potential improvements to a portion of Route 744, Deer Rapids Road, in Shenandoah County. The meeting will be held on August 5th from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Strasburg Town Hall. This location is at 174 King East Street in Strasburg.

Citizens can come in during the meeting hours and discuss the project one-on-one with VDOT officials and designers. Written comments can be submitted at the meeting or within 10 days after the meeting date to Mr. Garrett W. Moore, P.E. Virginia Department of Transportation, P.O. Box 2249, Staunton, VA 24402-2249. Oral comments can be recorded at the hearing with the assistance of a court reporter.

The proposed improvements to Route 744 include the replacement of the existing bridge over the North Fork of the Shenandoah River. This location extends from 0.3 mile to 0.45 mile east of Route 648.

The new bridge will improve access and increase safety by providing a wider road surface and replacing the current low-water bridge with a more elevated structure. The new bridge will be seven feet higher than the current structure, which will allow motorists to cross the river more often during some flooding events.

The existing 16-foot single-lane bridge will be replaced with a new 26-foot, two-lane bridge that will be built upstream about 100 feet. Traffic will continue to use the old bridge during the construction period.

The roadway approaches will be reconstructed to provide two 10-foot travel lanes. Graded shoulders will be adjacent to the pavement along with some areas of four-foot ditches.

In 2002, there were 421 vehicles per day at this location. This number is anticipated to increase to 670 vehicles per day by the year 2033. The foot bridge located downstream will remain in place.

Coordination of this project through the State Environmental Review Process has been done. A categorical exclusion environmental document was submitted to the Federal Highway Administration on April 4th.

There are no displacements of families, businesses or non-profit organizations with this project.

The estimated cost of the project is $2.3 million, including $454,665 for preliminary engineering, $37,845 for right of way, and $1,741,315 for construction. Design approval is anticipated to occur in late 2008 with right of way activities beginning in mid-2009. Construction advertisement will be in early 2011.