Opponents of a plan to replace a bridge on Interstate 66 near a historic mill in Broad Run told officials from the Virginia Department of Transportation at a hearing in Marshall Thursday that such a large project could be bad for the area and put historic sites at risk. 

A $47.7 million bridge replacement project funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia is facing resistance from local officials and conservation groups, who say the plan could threaten a centuries-old mill and surrounding protected land.

VDOT’s revised design marks a shift from their original 2023 plan, which called for a more limited superstructure repair within the existing footprint. The updated proposal, released in early 2025, would widen the bridge by roughly 60 feet in front of the Chapman-Beverley Mill-a historic 18th-century stone mill listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

VDOT risks undoing nearly 300 years of history and decades of restoration efforts with its reckless proposal. No one opposes replacing this bridge. The problem is VDOT’s unnecessary expansion of the project, which dramatically increases risks to the mill.