The City’s official position was to reopen the Wheeling Suspension Bridge to vehicular traffic.
They adopted that position once it was closed in September 2019 after a second motorcoach traveled over it and popped free its northeast anchor and damaged its structural integrity.
So, fix it, make it pretty, and reopen it. Please.
A number of Wheeling residents offered state officials with ideas for protecting the historic span from future tour buses and overweight vehicles, and former mayor Glenn Elliott penned an official letter with his ideas, as well. Steel barriers, toll booths, and weigh stations on both sides were a few of the suggested concepts, but each and every proposal was quickly and soundly rejected by Byrd White, then the Secretary of the Department of Transportation.
That was back in December 2020, and only a little more than a week ago did state officials inform Wheeling City Manager Bob Herron that the original “Gateway of the West” is now permanently closed.
“I was optimistic that it would be reopened to traffic even though there were people on the state level who believed it should remain closed for good,” Herron said. “I believed there were some people in the Justice Administration that felt there was a way to get it reopened. The City’s position was that we wanted it to reopen.
“So, as time went on, we continued to wait for the decision, and then we finally got the news that the decision was not to reopen it to vehicular traffic,” he explained. “Not only did it take about six weeks to get the phone call planned, but there were a lot of people on the call, too. There were bridge engineers, public relations people, and some other folks, too, and their decision came down to the changes that would have had to be made to the bridge to make sure it could hold the weight of today’s vehicles.”
As many have suggested, reinforcing the span to increase the 2-ton weight limit was not an option either with state officials, the city manager explained Tuesday on The River Network’s “Novotney Now” radio program.
“In order to allow vehicular traffic on it, they would have to make modifications that would have been so extensive and severe that it would have taken away its historical integrity and designation as a National Historic Place,” Herron reported. “They weren’t willing to do that to a 175-year-old bridge. It would have been very close to a complete rebuild because, as it is today, there are just cables keeping the bridge up, and there’s a lot of the bridge that’s wooden.
“There’s even some concern about the steel decking that’s been on the bridge for a lot of years. It’s perfectly fine today, but it might be something they look at it in the future to remove unnecessary stress to the cable,” he said. “If they do make any changes, everything would have to be approved by the federal and state officials. It’s all about preserving that history that dates back to the Civil War era here in Wheeling.”
A History Lesson
The Wheeling Suspension Bridge was constructed and opened nearly 180 years ago as the first span ever to cross over the Ohio River, and the only traffic at the time involved pedestrians and horse-and-buggies carrying those venturing west.
No cars. No trucks. No weight limit.
It wasn’t until automobiles became affordable during the early 1900s that vehicles began passing over the bridge, and for more than a century, it provided a second point of access from the mainland of Wheeling to Wheeling Island.
But now that vehicular traffic has been banned from the span, Herron says he’s received a number of different requests involving various kinds of events.
“People want to hold things like dinners and other functions, but one thing I can tell you is there will never be a bunch of vehicles of any kind out on the bridge. It’s up to the City to make sure things like that don’t happen in the future,” the city manager insisted. “The two things (state officials) are concerned about are large congregations of people and any vehicles on the bridge. Having a lot of weight in one area is not a good idea, and we’ve known that, and that’s why there was a separation rule when it was open to cars and trucks.
“Of course, it’s safe for walking and bike riding; the concerns about weight limits have always been there for the Suspension Bridge,” he said. “We’re getting a lot of requests for dinners and receptions on the bridge, so we’ll get clarifications on those kinds of events and move forward.”
What Herron does know for certain is that the original “Gateway to the West” will become a historical attraction that will be a part of the soon-to-be constructed Heritage Welcome Center on the corner of 10th and Main streets.
And it’s going to go in, in conjunction with the Heritage Welcome Center.
“There will be a plaza area next to the bridge, and the bridge’s history will be featured inside and outside the new Heritage Center. It’s a great opportunity to tell our visitors and the people traveling on Interstate 70 a great part of our history,” Herron revealed. “We’ll also have a park area across the bridge on Wheeling Island, and that area where people can stop, get a great view of the span, and then turn around and walk back over to the downtown.
“I know there are a lot of people who are upset with the state’s decision, and that’s why the City really wanted the state to reopen it to traffic,” he added. “But now that the decision has been made, we’re going to make it the attraction it deserves to be.”
But that doesn’t mean a vehicle will never-ever travel over the Suspension Bridge ever again, now does it?
No, and that’s why the black barriers installed in the Fall of 2025 are removable.
“Those barriers are removable in case we have an emergency that calls for our first responders to use the bridge for a quicker response. Of course, the first vehicle would have to remove the barriers, but then the rest could access Wheeling Island that way,” Herron said. “But, at no time, would that include a fire truck or an ambulance, but that only includes our cars and utility vehicles and nothing else.
“It would have to be a pretty big emergency, but not a flood because the entrance area to the bridge on the Wheeling Island side does take on water. That area does flood,” he explained. “So, we’re moving forward knowing now that it’s closed for good to vehicular traffic and it’s now a historical attraction that does get a lot of attention from the people who visit here.”
