Fort Belvoir Railroad Bridge, Spanning US Route 1, Accotink, Fairfax County, Virginia

Significance: The Fort Belvoir Military Railroad was constructed to support World War I mobilization efforts and was begun in January 1918. Construction work was completed by military engineers augmented by civilian employees. The approximately 4.51-mile railroad originally included six wood trestles; culverts also were constructed. The Fort Belvoir Military Railroad extended from the Quartermaster Corps warehouses located on the South Post to the north, terminating at Accotink Station (now Newington). The railroad ultimately linked the post to Alexandria and Washington, DC, facilitating the movement of goods to the installation and troop movement between the installation and metropolitan centers.

Two of the original six wood trestles on the military railroad were replaced by reinforced-concrete bridges during the late 1920s. Facility No. 1433 (Trestle 5), which spans U.S. Route 1 and links the North Post to the South Post, was one of the replacement structures. The remaining original trestles were demolished and the ravines or crossings were infilled.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1542
Survey number: HAER VA-141
Building/structure dates: 1928 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1935 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1973 Subsequent Work