Reno kicks off tear-down of Virginia Street Bridge

Weeks before crews begin tearing down Reno's iconic Virginia Street Bridge, city leaders are set to gather Wednesday for a ground-breaking ceremony to kick off the long-discussed project.

The event is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. beside the river at Reno City Plaza and include Reno city officials and representatives of the project's contractor, Q&D Construction.

The $18.3 million project involves the tear-down of Nevada's most structurally deficient bridge and construction of a replacement structure.

"It's an extremely important project," said Kerri Koski, project manager. "The structural integrity of the bridge is very, very poor and that's a problem, obviously. The obstruction is obviously another problem."

During flood, the existing bridge acts as a bottleneck for debris in the river and sends floodwaters rushing into areas of downtown Reno. For that reason, replacement of the Virginia Street Bridge is a cornerstone of a long-pursued Truckee River flood control project.

The project is also in line with the Reno City Council's strategy to create a more vibrant downtown and walkable community, Koski said.

Major demolition of the bridge – built in 1905 and made famous by stories of people tossing wedding rings into the river after divorce – will likely begin in mid-June and last about two months, Koski said.

Even as the tear-down occurs, crews will begin assembling portions of the new bridge on the street nearby, Koski said. Those components will be installed onto new bridge abutments once they are ready to go.

The overall project is expected to take about a year, with the new Virginia Street Bridge open to traffic in May of 2016.

The new "bowstring truss" bridge will allow river waters to pass freely beneath the structure, including during times of flood.

•WHAT: Virginia Street Bridge groundbreaking ceremony.

•WHEN: 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

•WHERE: Reno City Plaza.