PETERSBURG, Va. -- Homeowners in one Petersburg neighborhood say three years is too long to take a detour to get home after a bridge was closed over safety concerns has not been repaired.
Neighbors said they are “beyond frustrated” that one section of Oak Hill Road remains closed three years after the city stopped traffic from going over the bridge.
The Oak Hill Bridge linked the Oak Hill neighborhood and Crater Road, one of Petersburg's major thoroughfares.
“One day I went away, went out of town and I come back and it was closed up,” Pamela Carson recalled.
After three years, people who live in the neighborhood are tired of the detour.
“Someone needs to come here, stand on this bridge with us,” Bertha Hicks pleaded. “Where are you, mayor? Where are you, city council?”
For Hicks and her family, the said closure means it takes longer for help to get to her house where her brother is in hospice care.
"You see the main street,” she said. “It’s within sight but then you have to go a mile around to get to my home.”
“I believe the medical professionals and the fire department are delayed in their response of getting the proper care to my uncle because of having to take this detour,” Rashaunda Lanier-Jackson said.
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Neighbors were told repairs would be made to the bridge, but said getting the road back open is not just about convenience.
”Two to three minutes can make a difference to somebody's life, absolutely,” Carson noted. Two to three minutes can take somebody’s life.”
John Hennessee said he has asked the city to clean up the section that is closed.
“It looks like we don’t care,” Hennessee said. “Asked the city a year ago to keep this area clean. They put up a brand new sign to remind everybody to keep it clean and they haven’t touched it since they weedeated last year about August.”
Henneessee said to make matters worse people have been dumping items.
“Household garbage, we have a box spring down here, a mattress over there,” he said. “We’re the Petersburg City Dump.”
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City officials said in a statement that they continue to search for funding on the state and federal level to replace the bridge despite unsuccessful requests to the General Assembly in 2023 and 2024.
And a replacement bridge is included in the city’s 5-year Capital Improvement budget, according to officials.
Oak Hill is not the only street with closed signs and concrete barriers in place due to a bridge being closed.
A stretch of Lafayette Street has also been closed to traffic for several years due to a bridge being unsafe for cars and trucks. The city is also asking the state to help with the cost of those repairs.
Scroll down for the full statement from the City of Petersburg.
The City of Petersburg continues to seek funding to replace the Oak Hill Bridge. Despite unsuccessful Budget Amendment requests to the General Assembly in 2023 and 2024, Petersburg remains active in its search for state and federal support.
The Petersburg Department of Public Works is exploring all possible avenues, including temporary solutions. The initial cost estimate for a temporary bridge is approximately $2M.
The replacement of the Oak Hill Bridge is included in the City’s 5-Year Capital Improvement budget.
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