Morgan Ford Bridge again closed to traffic; river floods approaches

Morgan Ford Bridge (low water bridge), impassable due to June flash flooding.

The Morgan Ford bridge crossing the Shenandoah River north of town was closed again over the pre-holiday weekend due to high water over the roadway approaches.

A visit by a Royal Examiner reporter on the Happy Creek Road side of the bridge Sunday revealed bulldozers working to repair washed out roadway while high waters covered parts of the new, two-way span, opened earlier this year as a counter to regular flooding.

The bridge has been closed to traffic several times since last spring due to the heavy rainfalls of the past 12 months, though it was allegedly built to replace the 80-year-old flood-prone, single-lane span – known as the “low water bridge” – and resist the heaviest of storms.

Workers at the bridge on Sunday cautiously forecast a re-opening by Sunday evening. “Cautiously” because one of them remarked that even as few as “five rain spots on my windshield” during the rest of the day would mean another overnight closure as a safety precaution.

The bulldozer work being completed over the weekend was described as only a temporary fix. Further flooding would most certainly wash away the asphalt chunks that were being pushed into the washed out roadway, workers said.

This reporter saw only a single orange high water” sign on Happy Creek Road Sunday, giving no indication that the bridge was actually closed. Numerous vehicles, including his own, were turned around at the closed gate in just a few minutes of observation.