Photos by Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times

The state has reserved $20 million of federal stimulus money to build a new bridge over the New River in Narrows. People in the town are worried about what will happen to commerce if the bridge has to be closed while a new one is erected.

Mayor Clayton Davis says it's 'about time' the bridge is replaced.

NARROWS -- The only good route in and out of this small mountain community is to take one of the worst-rated bridges in Southwest Virginia across the mighty New River.

For now, the Narrows bridge, 48 feet at its highest, is holding its place as an economic and historic asset that sees daily traffic of almost three times the community's population.

But to highway engineers, the Virginia 61 bridge is a scorecard of disrepair.

Corrosion, cracking and deterioration have placed the bridge beyond hope. Replacement is the only option.

So when Virginia allocated a one-time windfall from the federal stimulus plan to its most urgent transportation needs, the decrepit bridge open since its construction in 1952 was an obvious choice.

The bridge connects Narrows and the rest of northwestern Giles County to U.S. 460. Without it, narrow country roads not suitable for trucks are the only option to get into and out of town.

Last month, the Commonwealth Transportation Board and Gov. Tim Kaine reserved $20 million to build a new bridge through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

It is the largest transportation project so far approved for stimulus funding in the 12-county Salem district of the Virginia Department of Transportation, covering the Roanoke and New River valleys and nearby communities.

That would appear to guarantee that Narrows, which honors the bridge with a drawing used as the town seal, can count on a solid transportation network for years to come.

But soon after the bridge funding was announced, Narrows began to grapple with the prospect of a construction-related outage that is daunting to small business owners, public officials and townsfolk.

Residents say they want the new bridge. The town has been asking for one through ordinary state funding channels for at least 15 years without success.

The federal funds would represent the biggest cash infusion in a long time for Narrows, which has a $2 million municipal budget. And outdoors lovers are excited to hear the new bridge will have a sidewalk like the old bridge, plus a bike lane.

Yet, local residents don't want to give up the old one -- even for a construction period of six to nine months -- while crews build a new one in its place.

About 30 minutes from Blacksburg by car on U.S. 460, Narrows, a pre-Civil War-era hamlet of about 2,200 people, sits on opposite banks of the New River.

One portion of Narrows, known as the northern part, sits beside U.S. 460 and has a number of homes and the high school. More homes and most business and services, including the post office and town offices, are on the opposite shore.

A nearly quarter-mile-long span of steel and concrete bridges the river, creating a conduit for vehicles, pedestrians and utilities. Attached underneath the bridge are drinking water, sewage and natural gas pipes.

If the bridge closed, the more than 5,000 motorists who use it daily would have a choice of two country roads as alternatives.

One road, Virginia 100, connects downtown Narrows and Bluff City about four miles away. But the narrow route is not recommended for large trucks.

Lurich Road, the other option, connects downtown Narrows and Glen Lyn, about eight miles away. But large vehicles are restricted by a tunnel with a 9-foot ceiling beneath a railroad track.

"You got to beep your horn when you go in it" or risk a wreck in the tunnel, resident Mitzi Kidd said.

Mayor Clayton Davis said Virginia 100 and Lurich Road are "totally inadequate" as alternative transportation corridors, especially for school buses and emergency vehicles heading in or out of Narrows.

Buddy Kast, assistant town manager, shares a similar view.

"If we lose that bridge, it totally isolates this side of Narrows," Kast said.

Deidri Thornton, general manager of the Food Time market in Narrows, dreads the thought.

Under any bridge-closing plan, "we're going to lose a lot of business," Thornton said.

For example, production workers of the Celanese Corp. acetate products plant in Bluff City stop in often for something to eat. Would they take the back roads for a Food Time burger and fries?

She doubts it.

Jerry Frazier, who owns Anna's Restaurant, the only sit-down lunch and dinner spot in downtown Narrows, is worried, too. Closing of the bridge "possibly could cost us our business," he said.

In that vein, the stimulus dollars could end up hurting the Narrows economy rather than helping it, townsfolk say.

But Belle Warner, who manages the 28-room MacArthur Inn Bed & Breakfast, a business with something to lose during a bridge closing, has a different view.

As devastating as the short-term business losses might be, she'll tolerate them for a new bridge, she said.

The present bridge "can't last," she said. If something goes wrong, it could "take some lives with it," she said.

In other communities, crews have replaced vital bridges a lane at a time. If crews can build a new Narrows bridge one half at a time, keeping one lane open for traffic, that is the route most people would like VDOT to go.

But Kast said VDOT engineers are not sure that's possible. "They're scared if they cut the bridge in half, it's all going to end up in the river," Kast said.

For the record, highway engineers say they consider the bridge safe for use. It has no weight restrictions. Kast has seen six school buses on it at a time. Trucks carrying stone and logs rumble across.

At first glance, the obvious alternative would be to build a new bridge or a temporary one beside the old one. Kast said that's problematic, too.

For one, a temporary bridge will take as much time and money as a new one. And, unless the next bridge sits upon the footprint of the current bridge, the state would have to conduct environmental studies at the new location. Those would likely delay the project beyond a March deadline by which the state must advertise for a contractor or risk the federal stimulus money.

"If we can't meet the deadline for that money, then it's gone," Kast said. So is the bridge project, he said.

Mayor Davis is hopeful a solution can be found.

"We've been put on the back burner for so many years now and feel like it's about time," he said.