BREAKS, Va. (WJHL) — You can now drive across the tallest bridge in Virginia.

The Virginia Department of Transportation announced that the twin bridges over Grassy Creek opened on Monday.

The bridges, located near Breaks Interstate Park, are about 265 feet tall and 1,733 feet long. They are part of VDOT’s Route 460 Connector project, which will run from Grundy to the Kentucky state line. Construction began in 2015.

  • (Photo: VDOT)
  • Route 460 Connector Phase I includes design and construction of: Twin high-level bridges, 1700 linear feet in length, located over Conaway Road (Route 610) and Grassy Creek. When completed the over 250-foot-high bridges will be the tallest in Virginia. A .8-mile four-lane divided highway (US Route 460) starting at the Kentucky State Line. An access ramp to Route 80, improving access to Breaks Interstate Park. This includes the construction of a bridge crossing Route 768. Secondary connections to Routes 609 and 693 from Route 80.
  • Route 460 Connector Phase I includes design and construction of: Twin high-level bridges, 1700 linear feet in length, located over Conaway Road (Route 610) and Grassy Creek. When completed the over 250-foot-high bridges will be the tallest in Virginia. A .8-mile four-lane divided highway (US Route 460) starting at the Kentucky State Line. An access ramp to Route 80, improving access to Breaks Interstate Park. This includes the construction of a bridge crossing Route 768. Secondary connections to Routes 609 and 693 from Route 80.
  • Route 460 Connector Phase I includes design and construction of: Twin high-level bridges, 1700 linear feet in length, located over Conaway Road (Route 610) and Grassy Creek. When completed the over 250-foot-high bridges will be the tallest in Virginia. A .8-mile four-lane divided highway (US Route 460) starting at the Kentucky State Line. An access ramp to Route 80, improving access to Breaks Interstate Park. This includes the construction of a bridge crossing Route 768. Secondary connections to Routes 609 and 693 from Route 80.
  • Route 460 Connector Phase I includes design and construction of: Twin high-level bridges, 1700 linear feet in length, located over Conaway Road (Route 610) and Grassy Creek. When completed the over 250-foot-high bridges will be the tallest in Virginia. A .8-mile four-lane divided highway (US Route 460) starting at the Kentucky State Line. An access ramp to Route 80, improving access to Breaks Interstate Park. This includes the construction of a bridge crossing Route 768. Secondary connections to Routes 609 and 693 from Route 80.
  • Route 460 Connector Phase I includes design and construction of: Twin high-level bridges, 1700 linear feet in length, located over Conaway Road (Route 610) and Grassy Creek. When completed the over 250-foot-high bridges will be the tallest in Virginia. A .8-mile four-lane divided highway (US Route 460) starting at the Kentucky State Line. An access ramp to Route 80, improving access to Breaks Interstate Park. This includes the construction of a bridge crossing Route 768. Secondary connections to Routes 609 and 693 from Route 80.
  • Route 460 Connector Phase I includes design and construction of: Twin high-level bridges, 1700 linear feet in length, located over Conaway Road (Route 610) and Grassy Creek. When completed the over 250-foot-high bridges will be the tallest in Virginia. A .8-mile four-lane divided highway (US Route 460) starting at the Kentucky State Line. An access ramp to Route 80, improving access to Breaks Interstate Park. This includes the construction of a bridge crossing Route 768. Secondary connections to Routes 609 and 693 from Route 80.

Kentucky has also opened a portion of Route 460 on its side of the state line, so the stretch of highway now links Breaks, Virginia to Beaver, Kentucky.

“Kentucky’s milestone of completing a portion of new Route 460 from the state line to near
Elkhorn City meant VDOT would be able to open Phase I, greatly improving access for local
motorists,” Acting Major Projects Program Manager Marty Halloway, P.E. said in a news release.

“Current circumstances created by the pandemic kept us from formally celebrating this
milestone, we are looking forward to celebrating the opening of 10 miles of Corridor Q in the
near future,” VDOT Bristol District Administrator Donny Necessary said.

VDOT says all projects currently completed to rough grade will be paved and open to traffic from the state line to Route 744 at Southern Gap in 2023.