NATURAL BRIDGE, Va. – For the first time in 17 years, VDOT tested the structural integrity of Route 11 over Natural Bridge in Rockbridge County.
With planned development of Natural Bridge State Park for the next 30 years there is growing debate over whether the road should continue to run over the more than 1-million-year-old namesake of the town.
According to VDOT, there are more than 2,000 cars and trucks that drive on Route 11, which runs right over top of Natural Bridge every day. Wednesday, geologists with using ground-penetrating radar to test the stability of that roadway.
Driving slowly up and down this windy road, the radar feeds data back to the geologist’s laptop that show any possible disturbances in the ground.
Many drivers probably don't realize that road is laid over top of a 215-foot-tall limestone arch that was naturally carved out over hundreds of thousands of years, not to mention the namesake of the town.
Because the bridge isn't owned by VDOT, it is not regularly inspected for safety like a man-made bridge normally would be.
As the state moves forward with its 30-year-plan of it newest state park, that roadway along with other future construction is another logistic to sort out.
"The road is one of the considerations of that planning process just as the rest of the facilities are,” said Jim Jones, the park manager at Natural Bridge.
Jones said any decision made on Route 11, or a possible future bypass is out of their hands, and will fall on VDOT.
That is part of considerations that will definitely be taken seriously as the popularity of this historic landmark has sky-rocketed since becoming a state park.
"We've had a 50-percent increase in attendance compared to last year. So there's quite a few more people coming through," Jones said.
That is also added incentive to continue to protect that natural formation and determine if this roadway could potentially be a threat.
"The young men that built the state park systems back then, left us a legacy that they passed forward to us. It's an honor that we get to have a part of that legacy and continue to pass that on. So they left their mark back then. It's our duty and responsibility to leave our mark and pass forward that legacy to the next generation,” Jones said.
Although testing hasn't been done in 17 years, they say there is no evidence that the roadway is unsafe.