The Virginia Department of Transportation will hold a design public hearing for a proposed bridge replacement project over Fox Creek on Route 662 (Allmondsville Road) in Gloucester from 5-7 p.m. next Thursday, Aug. 14, at the Abingdon Fire and Rescue building, 2676 Hayes Road.

The existing bridge, which was built in 1937, is “structurally deficient and obsolete,” said Kelly Hannon, public information officer for VDOT’s Fredericksburg District office that serves Gloucester and Mathews. That means the bridge does not meet modern bridge standards, she said.

Because of these deficiencies, the bridge is posted with a three-ton weight limit. After the bridge is replaced, the weight limit will be lifted, she said.

Construction is proposed to begin in late 2017, Hannon said, and should be completed in 2018. That work will include replacing a timber deck with a concrete deck, which will have two nine-foot travel lanes and a pair of two-foot shoulders. The project will cost ...