ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Crews replacing the railroad bridges over King Street and Commonwealth Avenue will work into the evening starting Monday, and neighbors should expect construction noise until 9 p.m.
Virginia Railway Express said Friday that its contractor, Kokosing Construction, will use a city noise variance permit to excavate at the bridge abutments from 6 to 9 p.m. on weekdays from Monday, Sept. 14, through Monday, Sept. 21.
The work itself is not new. VRE said it is consistent with construction in the area over the past several weeks. What changes is the hours.
City rules normally limit noise-generating construction to 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, according to VRE's project website. Work outside those hours requires a noise variance permit and a noise mitigation plan from the contractor.
The city approved the extended hours for an initial one-week period so it can evaluate the effects on the neighborhood, according to VRE. The agency said the excavation is expected to continue for several weeks and that the project team expects to seek extensions. Dates, hours and conditions could change based on the city's review.
VRE said the evening hours are needed to finish excavation for the new bridges while keeping the project on schedule. The project team will limit unnecessary noise and aim site lighting toward the work area, the agency said.
The bridge replacement is part of VRE's larger Alexandria Station Improvements project, which also includes reconstructing and lengthening the station's platforms, adding elevators, replacing the pedestrian tunnel to the center platform and removing the at-grade pedestrian crossing between platforms, according to the project website.
Under its contract, Kokosing must reach substantial completion within 756 days of the notice to proceed, which VRE issued in December 2025. That puts the target in early 2028. The roughly $136 million project draws on federal, state and local funding, the largest share of it $91.4 million from the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority for the bridges.
The evening work follows a series of full King Street closures this spring to install bridge spans, which VRE rescheduled several times. The Brief reported in May that the second of those closures was moved to May 28 through June 3.
Questions can be sent to AlexandriaStationImprovements@vre.org. Project updates are posted at vre.org/alexandria-station-project.
Ryan Belmore is an Alexandria resident and the founder and publisher of The Alexandria Brief. Send tips, feedback, and story ideas to ryan@alexandriabrief.com.
