Fabrication and production of necessary infrastructure has delayed work at Learning Lane in Fredericksburg, city officials announced in a press release Tuesday. Now the road is anticipated to be closed through January.
Learning Lane, which leads from Route 1 to Lafayette Elementary and Walker-Grant Middle schools, was shut down in July after culvert pipes underneath the roadway were deemed to be failing. Heavy rainfall in the spring caused runoff from an adjacent car dealership, contributing to the rapidly deteriorating state of the pipes and surrounding area.
Emergency work at the road originally was expected to be finished last month, but the complexity of the fabrication and production of engineered concrete endwalls caused a delay.
The downstream endwall was installed by city contractors Friday. The upstream endwall is being fabricated and is expected to be on site early next month. With the downstream endwall in place, workers will begin with installation of new culvert pipes followed by the upstream endwall installation, and then reconstruction of Learning Lane.
Upstream embankment erosion meant quick action to solve the problem was needed. The area has continued to erode and is now approximately 6 feet from the Learning Lane paved surface.
Fredericksburg officials are working to open the road as soon as possible, but Tuesday’s announcement didn’t provide an exact date.
“The city staff greatly appreciates our community’s understanding as this work continues, as well as the schools’ and neighborhoods’ patience as they are most affected by the detour routes,” the statement read.
