He said it nearly two years, but yet, doubt has remained.
Tony Clark, the District 6 Engineer for the state’s Division of Highways, relieved worries in November 2021 when telling LEDE News:
“It is the intent of the state to preserve the Suspension Bridge as the landmark and icon that it is. It’s not a case that if the bridge is closed to vehicular traffic, the maintenance funding goes away. That can’t happen and won’t happen.
“There is no way the Suspension Bridge will be left to sit and rot and fall in on its own,” the district engineer insisted. “It is definitely a unique structure in the state of West Virginia, and we want to keep it into perpetuity. I grew up in Wetzel County, and I have known about the Suspension Bridge my whole life because I’ve not been a stranger to Wheeling.”
W.Va. Del. Erikka Storch (R-4) confirmed this week the funding system STILL would remain in place if the historic span is closed to vehicular traffic at the time the current $18 million project is completed.
Storch, currently in her sixth term representing residents of Ohio County, said she’s communicated with Clark and with Department of Transportation officials in Charleston over the past 10 days.
“There have been a lot of questions asked about the future funding for the continued maintenance of the Suspension Bridge because we still do not know if it will be opened to cars and trucks again,” the lawmaker explained. “So, I wanted to make sure, one way or the other, that the maintenance would continue because of the historical importance of the bridge. The Suspension Bridge is our country’s original ‘Gateway to the West.’
“The officials in Charleston, and that includes Gov. (Jim) Justice, have said they will not make a decision on the bridge and vehicular traffic until after the current rehabilitation project is completed, and that’s probably still around a year from now,” Storch said. “But I know the last (motorcoach) to travel over it back in June 2019 caused more damage than I think anyone expected, so there’s still a lot of work to be done to the bridge.”
The Suspension Bridge, opened in 1847, was the first span to cross the Ohio River and stood as the largest suspension bridge in the world from 1849-51. The bridge was constructed for horse-and-buggy transportation but has been utilized by vehicular traffic for more than a century, but the future use of the span now is in question after it has been closed on several occasions for repairs.
The Suspension Bridge, listed as a National Historic Landmark and a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, has been shuttered to cars and trucks since September 2019 after a full tour bus crossed it after departing Wheeling Island Hotel Casino Racetrack with more than 40 passengers and their luggage. The bus company and the driver, the second in two years to cross the 176-year-old structure, were fined by the state of West Virginia and by the City of Wheeling.
“I think when the second bus went over and it was a full bus, that made a lot of people here in this area and down in Charleston realize that the Suspension Bridge needed to protect more than the 2-ton weight limit and the 50-foot intervals,” Storch said. “So, I know if the bridge is to open to cars and trucks again, protection would have to be in place and I don’t think anyone knows what they would look like right now.”
Anchor Up?
Under a former district engineer, Gus Suwaid, barrier systems for the bridge entrances were proposed and rejected by Wheeling area historical experts. Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott then offered five ideas for protecting the national landmark and all five were refused by state officials.
Clark already has told Elliott, Storch, Wheeling Ward 2 Councilman Ben Seidler, and the residents of Wheeling Island the span’s weight limit – 4,000 pounds – will not be increased.
“Of course, as a resident of Wheeling Island and as the council representative for the people here, I hope it reopens to cars and trucks again after we figure out a way to enforce the weight limit,” Seidler said. “We’ve already been told by state officials we have to figure out how we can protect it.”
Seilder has examined the scope of the $18 million project and he’s worried the extent of repair and beautification this time around will lead state officials to block anything more than bicycles and pedestrians from crossing.
“I don’t know what the decision is going to be, but I have a bad feeling because they had to dig up the anchor on the northeast corner and I think it’s the first time ever,” Seilder admitted. “When I’ve seen the extent of the work they are doing to the bridge this time, it sure seems like the Suspension Bridge was really, really damaged by that second bus.”
Access at Issue
The timing of the Suspension Bridge closure could not have come at a worse time because of the eastbound and westbound lane limitations placed on the Fort Henry Bridge during the most recent three-year project along Interstate 70. On a few occasions, because of traffic accidents, Island residents were forced to travel the Bridgeport Bridge, then south on Ohio Route 7 to cross the Ohio River via the I-470 Bridge.
Once in the history of the Friendly City, though, three bridges transported those same citizens across the front channel of the historical waterway.
The Steel Bridge, a span that extended along Alley 7 in downtown Wheeling to Wheeling Island, was demolished in 1962 after standing for 71 years. The span carried people and trolleys to and from the Island, and it became a toll bridge before it was dropped into the Ohio River.
“If they do decide to close the Suspension Bridge to vehicular traffic, I hope the state considers building a replacement for it because another bridge is needed for the residents of Wheeling Island. It’s about public safety and about access because if more big accidents happen on the Fort Henry (Bridge).
“That is a very unsafe situation for us on the Island and I feel anyone – including state officials – can understand why,” the Ward 2 council representative insisted. “If the state’s decision is to close (the Suspension Bridge), I will request a new bridge immediately.”
