Updates Given On Market Street, Suspension Bridges

WHEELING -- The deck on the Market Street Bridge -- a key downtown span that has been closed since a fire damaged it more than a year ago -- is expected to be replaced in the coming months.

This week, Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron gave members of city council an update on some items being spearheaded by the state, including the latest on the status of the Market Street Bridge. With the Downtown Streetscape Project limiting lanes and travel through many areas in the heart of the city, the lingering closure of the bridge over Wheeling Creek between the downtown and Center Wheeling has added to the maze of orange barrels and detour signs.

Herron told council he wasn't speaking specifically for the West Virginia Department of Highways but did get a general update on the Market Street Bridge's status.

The fire that damaged the underside of the bridge decking occurred on June 7 of last year. A fire reportedly erupted at a homeless encampment that had been situated beneath the Market Street Bridge.

"The deck on that bridge needs to be entirely replaced," Herron said.

Plans have been in the works to get that done, according to the city manager, who noted that Market Street is part of W.Va. 2 -- and like the Streetscape project -- falls under the jurisdiction of the state.

"The engineering drawings have been completed on that project," Herron said of the Market Street Bridge repairs. "It is currently being reviewed in Charleston and hopefully once that review is completed in the next couple of weeks it will then be put out for bid later this summer or early fall.

"I would anticipate construction - if all goes as planned - beginning sometime in October or November with completion sometime in early spring."

Herron noted that this was a general overview of the project that is planned. He stressed that this was a West Virginia Department of Highways administered project that is subject to scheduling by the state.

Tony Clark, W.Va. Division of Highways District 6 Engineer, could not be reached for comment about the project on Wednesday.

Yet another major project in downtown Wheeling that has been spearheaded by the state has been the rehabilitation of the historic Wheeling Suspension Bridge. It too has sustained damage in recent years. After being damaged by an oversized vehicle, the Suspension Bridge was closed to vehicular traffic in 2019 and has since remained closed. Until that closure, it had been the oldest suspension bridge still in continuous use in the United States.

"The Suspension Bridge was slated to be completed in July," Herron said of the rehab, a $17 million effort by the state which has included painting and replacement of support cables. "That project has also been delayed, mainly because they found a couple of things that needed to be addressed once they were getting into it and going through the project. There have been some supply-chain delays as a result of those additional changes."

Herron indicated that officials predict the Suspension Bridge rehabilitation work to continue for a couple of months.

"I would anticipate that project probably going into the fall before it's completed," he said. "But it is nearing its end from a construction perspective. They do have some steel and some wood issues that they've got to address, and they have some supply-chain issues associated with that."

During the Suspension Bridge rehab, one walkway was maintained for pedestrian traffic during the majority of construction. Officials noted that a determination has not yet been announced about the future of the bridge regarding its ability to continue accommodating vehicle traffic.

"It's my understanding that a decision has not yet been made, and if it has been made, it's not been relayed to the community," Herron said.