Wheeling Market St. Bridge Replacement To Begin Monday, Bridge To Reopen In July

Wheeling's Market Street Bridge will reopen in July after more than two years of being closed, according to a West Virginia Division of Highways announcement Friday. The replacement process for that bridge begins Monday.

The bridge has been off limits to vehicles since June 7, 2022. A fire from a homeless encampment right under the bridge deck damaged the bridge to a point where officials shut it down. The material out of which the bridge deck was made contained fiberglass, which complicated the process.

That bridge also will be closed to pedestrians starting at 7 a.m. Monday so the demolition process can begin. The bridge's deck will be fully replaced. According to WVDOH, the bridge is scheduled to reopen on July 20. Inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances could change the schedule.

A DOH spokesman in December said that the cost to replace that bridge will be $1.35 million. Merlo Construction of Mineral Point, Pennsylvania, won the contract for the job.

The replacement and reopening of the bridge is welcome news to Wheeling residents, who have gone years without being able to use what had been a primary throughway to and from downtown Wheeling. The bridge's closure further complicated travel around downtown, which has been significantly altered by the $32 million Downtown Streetscape Project, which is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2025.