A key river crossing in the US state of Virginia has been closed indefinitely because of scour damage to one of its timber piers. Virginia Department of Transportation engineers decided to close the 65-year-old swing-span drawbridge as soon as they inspected the erosion. Motorists now face a 100km detour until it reopens. The 29 span, 385m bridge over the Chickahominy River was officially named the Judith Stewart Dresser Memorial Bridge last year but is commonly known as Barrett’s Ferry Bridge. Design of a US$19 million replacement bridge was already planned, with design due to start in 2006.