Route 460/121 – Poplar Creek Phase A project wins two awards

BRISTOL – The Corridor Q: Route 460/121 – Poplar Creek Phase A project in Buchanan County had its moment in the spotlight this spring, winning two statewide awards.

The project was selected for the Virginia Chapter of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) 2025 Excellence in Construction - Virginia Commonwealth Award for the construction of the box culvert located beneath a portion of the new roadway.

The award is an overall excellence award presented to projects demonstrating exceptional use of concrete.

The structure is one of the deepest (310-feet maximum cover at its midsection) for a precast box culvert in the nation. The combined boxes, using the triple 7’x7’ design, are 2,200 linear feet or almost a half-mile long.

The project was also recognized for the 2026 Fourth Annual VDOT Environmental Performance Program (EPP) Award. The EPP Award, developed in a joint effort between VDOT’s Environmental, Location & Design and Construction Divisions, recognizes projects with extraordinary environmental performance during construction completed the previous year.

VDOT and Poplar Creek Phase A design-builder, Bizzack Construction, LLC, obtained multiple permits pertaining to wetland and stream impacts. This includes an individual Clean Water Act Section 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and an individual Section 401 water quality certification from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

Other environmental factors for the project included 14 erosion and sediment control phases, eight temporary sediment basins, three permanent stormwater basins, 40 temporary sediment traps and over 14 miles of silt fence were installed throughout the life of the project. The project also required a Construction General Permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System for the approximate 334 acres of land disturbance associated with the project.  

Additionally, 2,200 linear feet of stream location was performed for the box culvert.

“As an engineer, a project such as Poplar Creek Phase A is considered one of the most unique and challenging projects of a career,” VDOT Bristol District Engineer Tabitha Crowder, P.E., said. “A great team was assembled within VDOT and private industry to move this complex project from design to fruition.”

Phase A construction began in Summer 2019 and was completed in October 2025. Bizzack Construction, Lexington, Ky., was VDOT’s partner for the design-build project, valued at $167 million.

Corridor Q, currently designated as U.S. Route 460, runs through Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia and is part of the National Highway System. It is also part of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS), which is the centerpiece of the Appalachian Regional Commission’s effort to foster economic and social development in the multi-state Appalachian region.