New Ohio River Bridge’s Name Yet To Be Decided
Warren Scott Trending
WELLSBURG -- While the new span across the Ohio River will be welcomed Wednesday, it will be at least a few months before area residents will be able to call it by its official name.
That's because the name will be decided through a vote by the West Virginia Legislature, though many residents have had some input into it.
State Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, said the bridge's name will be determined through a resolution adopted by the state legislature, which reconvenes in January.
To prepare for such legislation, Weld solicited suggestions through local and social media last year.
To date, it's been referred to most frequently as the Wellsburg Bridge, the name officials with the West Virginia Department of Transportation called it when they advertised the $131 million project in 2015. But Weld said there are other contenders.
They include:
– The Pioneer Bridge, suggested by former Brooke County Commissioner Tim Ennis. Ennis said the name is appropriate not only because a bicycle lane on the 60-foot-wide span will link to the Brooke County Pioneer Trail just below it.
Weld noted the bridge also is unique in that its 4,100-ton main span was transported by barges from an area below the Wellsburg Smith Oil gas station, where it was built, and down river to Brilliant, where it was lifted by hydraulic jacks onto its piers from 80 feet below.
– The Black Bear Bridge, which alludes to the West Virginia state animal and was inspired by reports a black bear was seen swimming in the river during the main span's transport on April 26, 2021.
– The Cardinal Bridge, which alludes to the state bird as well as the Cardinal Power Plant. Located near the bridge in Brilliant, the plant received its name because the red bird also is Ohio's state bird.
– The Wellsburg Century Bridge because it's said talk of an Ohio River link between the city and southern Jefferson County can be traced as long ago as the mid-1920s.
Officials in Beech Bottom, located just south of the span, have lobbied with others for the Purple Heart Bridge. But Weld said he's concerned the name would create confusion because the span connecting Wheeling Island and Bridgeport is named the Military Order of the Purple Heart Bridge.
While area residents will have to wait a while to learn the name of the new Ohio River bridge, they will be able to get a closer look at it on Wednesday, during a daylong celebration planned around a noon ribbon-cutting with Gov. Jim Justice.
The span is slated to open for traffic on Thursday.