The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) in Virginia, US, has awarded two contracts worth approximately $49m for major infrastructure improvements in the region.

The projects to be carried out in the Northern Virginia and Richmond districts of the Virginia department of transportation (VDOT) will improve mobility, improve safety and extend the life of the transportation network in the state.

Work under the projects will include rehabilitating a pair of bridges and widen section of Route 7 over Dulles Toll Road in Fairfax County.

"The work will enhance the existing three-lane Route 7 bridges over the Dulles Toll Road, which were built in 1960 and deemed structurally deficient."

The project will also comprise rendering of the planned Route 7 bridge improvements over the Dulles Toll Road in Fairfax County within the project limits roughly 0.1 miles west of Tyco.

A $39.9m design-build contract was awarded to GA & FC Wagman to widen part of Route 7, as well as to rehabilitate the existing twin bridges over the Dulles Toll Road.

The work will enhance the existing three-lane Route 7 bridges over the Dulles Toll Road, which were built in 1960 and deemed structurally deficient.

As part of the project, the existing superstructure will be replaced, widened and raised to provide a 16.5ft vertical clearance over the Dulles Toll Road to meet current design standards.

Route 7 will be widened to a six-lane roadway to 0.6 miles west of Tyco Road in order to match the section built during Phase I of Metrorail’s Silver Line to Dulles International Airport on the south side of the Dulles Toll Road.

Each bridge now carries two lanes of through traffic plus an auxiliary lane and a concrete sidewalk, CTB said in a statement.

Work will include side-by-side bridges widened to a total of 149ft to accommodate a 14ft shared-use path with additional lane space on each side, while the abutments will be replaced with full-height abutments to accommodate collector-distributor lanes under the end spans for the future Tysons ramps project.

CTB noted that the project is scheduled to be completed in May 2018.

Of the total amount, CTB has awarded a $8.6m contract to Curtis Contracting to replace a bridge on US 460 over railroad tracks.

The new structure will include two 12ft lanes with 10ft shoulders.

The US 460 Business project, which will also provide 10ft shoulders to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians, will be completed in June 2017.