Northern Panhandle and East Ohio residents need a new bridge to link the two regions. Two questions now are where the span should be built and how to pay for it.

Public hearings will be held this month to discuss a site for the proposed bridge. Hearings are scheduled from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday at Buckeye North Middle School in Brilliant and from 4-7 p.m. Sept. 24 at Wellsburg Middle School. They are being conducted by West Virginia, Ohio and federal highway agencies and an engineering firm.

Three sites have been proposed for the bridge, all linking W.Va. 2 south of Wellsburg with Ohio 7 in the area of Brilliant. Government agencies involved in deciding on a site should take into account comments by the public, of course. If specific concerns about individual site proposals are aired, they should be addressed. In general, however, the primary site consideration should be cost. The bridge should be erected where it will cost the least, both to construct and to maintain.

Unfortunately, construction may be years down the road. It has been estimated that the bridge will cost about $100 million. To date, only $18 million has been provided, in federal funds obtained through Sens. Robert Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, both D-W.Va.

Local officials seeking funds for the span have visited those two members of Congress, along with U.S. Rep. Charles Wilson, D-Ohio.

We encourage Wilson and other Ohio representatives and senators to take active roles in seeking money for the bridge. It is important to residents of both our states.

Working together, lawmakers from West Virginia and Ohio can have real clout in obtaining federal money for the new bridge. We encourage them to do all in their power to do that.