Over the past five years, the Wheeling Suspension Bridge has been closed, repaired, and reopened only to be closed again because of additional damage caused by a motorcoach in Summer 2019, and the historic span has not welcomed vehicular traffic since September 2019.
In a letter to Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott in October 2019, state Transportation Secretary Byrd White stated the bridge would remain closed “until a permanent solution can be developed.”
Wheeling City Manager Bob Herron, however, feels a new system to protect the Suspension Bridge against overweight traffic is a good possibility.
“Whether or not the Suspension Bridge will reopen to vehicular traffic is an unknown right now, but the city really hopes it does with whatever restrictions the state deems necessary,” Herron said. “I do think it will reopen to vehicular traffic, but that’s not our call. The state will make that call.
“The idea to address the overweight vehicles that was going to occur involved a permanent hard barrier. I have not seen the revised plans, though, so I am not positive right now what the plan would be if the decision is made to reopen it,” he said. “There have been a lot of ideas tossed back and forth about how to enforce the weight limit, so it is our hope that we can have those conversations again.”
Charleston in Charge
Tony Clark, District 6 engineer with the Division of Highways, told LEDE News last week the decision to reopen the span or to keep it closed to vehicles cannot be made by state officials until the $10 million rehabilitation project is performed.
The project was initially announced eight years ago to address beautification and all structural issues, but it has been delayed since. The bidding process took place late last year with plans for the work to begin this summer, but the lone proposal received was $7 million more than anticipated.
Herron hopes officials in Charleston move quickly with the second bidding process.
“Everyone with the city is anxious for the Suspension Bridge project to move forward because of how important that bridge is for Wheeling Island residents,” Herron said. “Now, that project is being administered by the Central Office, so our District 6 engineer won’t be as involved with project as he is with the streetscape project.
“Right now, the people in the Central Office are taking a long look at the bid so they can develop ways to redefine the scope of the project,” he said. “I know they are hopeful to put that bid back out by mid-summer so that project can get started as soon as possible.”
Streetscape Process Moves Forward
It was in 2015 when residents of Wheeling first heard of something called a “streetscape” project, and now, six years later, Wheeling’s city manager owns hope the $25 million makeover will begin later in 2021. Work will include new signalization, new sidewalks and curbs, and finally, paving Main and Market streets as well as other areas connected to W.Va. Route 2.
When first introduced by former mayor Andy McKenzie, the cost of the streetscape was nearly $9 million, but addressing vaults discovered beneath the sidewalks of downtown Wheeling and the addition of new signals significantly increased the price of the project. The majority of the needed funds will be provided by the WVDOT.
“The plans for the streetscape were completed in December, and it is 500 pages,” Herron said. “They are finishing up their review on the district level after going through them with a fine-tooth comb trying to address and anticipate what questions and issues there may be when the officials in Charleston conduct their review. We appreciate that very much because of the importance of this project to our downtown.
“As of right now, the streetscape project is expected to begin this year,” he said. “Most of the work will be conducted to Main and Market streets, but there will be other areas that will be addressed, as well, because of the connections to W.Va. Route 2.”
