The rural beauty of the Ellett Valley made aesthetics a major focus of this project. The piers and abutments use native “Hokie Stone” as a unifying natural element to the nearby Virginia Tech campus. Other design features that blend the structure into the valley include long spans to minimize the number of piers, accentuated superstructure depth at the piers to produce an arching appearance, piers that taper in both directions, and a buff colored coating to complement the stone inlays. The 1,985’ long bridge serves as a research facility for the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.