{"nrhp_refnum":"89001903","name":"Virginian Railway Underpass","other_names":["60-573"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Jct. of Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks and VA 723, S of New Ellett","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Ellett","county":"Montgomery County","state":"VA","lat":37.19954457100005,"lon":-80.36402220199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-11-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-lane poured concrete horseshoe-arch underpass where Virginia Route 723 passes beneath the railway bed (now Norfolk Southern) just south of New Ellett in Montgomery County, Virginia. A date plate gives its construction as 1906 by Bates and Rogers Construction Company.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the underpass is the most prominent of several horseshoe-form concrete bridges found only in Montgomery County, a shape not seen elsewhere in Virginia. It scored 21 of 35 points in a state survey of concrete arch bridges, earning high marks for integrity, documented builder, early date, material and unusual form. It illustrates regional diversity in Virginia arch types.","narrative":"Where Virginia Route 723 meets the railway bed at the village of New Ellett, in the North Fork Valley, the road passes through a small concrete underpass built in 1906. A metal date plate set into the wall names the builder as Bates and Rogers Construction Company. The structure is a single poured-concrete barrel fifteen feet long and 14 feet 6 inches wide at ground level, with 12 feet 9 inches of headroom. Below the springing point of the arch the side walls curve inward, producing a horseshoe profile, and angled concrete abutments support the arch. The road here is a single lane about twelve feet wide. Its listing rests on engineering significance. A state survey of concrete and masonry arch bridges found horseshoe-shaped railroad underpasses only in Montgomery County. This one was rated the most prominent of them and scored among the highest in the twelve-county Salem district, outside three elaborate city bridges, for integrity, documented builder, early date and unusual form.","period_of_significance":"1906","architect_builder":"Bates and Rogers Construction Company","architectural_style":"Concrete horseshoe-arch underpass","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still carries road traffic beneath an active railway line (historic and current functions listed as road-related and rail-related transportation).","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.616182-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/48/6788/41678848/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/89001903.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001903/c74c810bde-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001903/c74c810bde-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Skye Marthaler","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Virginian_Railway_Underpass.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Skye Marthaler</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Virginian_Railway_Underpass.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41678848","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginian_Railway_Underpass","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713461"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/montgomery-county/virginian-railway-underpass-89001903/"}