photo by: Derek Redd

Work continues Thursday to remove the decking of the Washington Avenue Bridge from Wheeling Creek after it collapsed Wednesday.

WHEELING — The combined weight of a dump truck and an excavator occupying the Washington Avenue Bridge when it collapsed Wednesday did exceed the span’s 5-ton weight limit, a state official said Thursday.

Brian Kucish, director for West Virginia Division of Highways District 6, met with the project’s contractor, Charles J. Merlo Inc. of Mineral Point, Pennsylvania, and U.S. Federal Highways Administration officials Thursday.

“It is a contract job. When the low bidder gets the job, it becomes their bridge,” Kucish said. “We emphasize it was a construction work site accident. That is what we are calling it. The bridge has been closed for a month, and there was no live traffic on it.”

The Washington Avenue Bridge was closed in early December for replacement, and work was expected to take place until next fall.

Kucish doesn’t know yet how long it is going to take to remove the debris from the creek bed, or what effect the incident will have on the project’s timeline. He is waiting to hear back from the contractors, who now are putting together a remediation plan.

“We don’t know how long it is going to be at this stage,” Kucish continued. “As of right now, it is still scheduled (to be completed) by the end of October. This could possibly add a little to it. As far as extending the project, it’s too early to determine.”

He noted the Washington Avenue Bridge “Is a city bridge” belonging to the city of Wheeling. The project is being paid for through a federal off-system bridge program.

“The federal government pays us to repair bridges because the city doesn’t have money to facilitate it,” Kucish explained.

Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said he doesn’t “have an updated schedule yet” on the bridge replacement, and referred further comment to the WVDOH.

“I’m sure the entire event is being reviewed by them,” he said.

The bridge collapse at present time is being investigated by the DOH and the contractor, according to Kucish.

The WVDOT awarded a $5,342,000 contract to Charles J. Merlo Inc. of Mineral Point, Pa., for the Washington Avenue Bridge replacement. Work was scheduled to take place between December 2025 and October 2026, and the bridge was closed to traffic last month.

An excavator and a large dump truck were being used for the removal of concrete decking in the middle of the bridge when it collapsed straight down into Wheeling Creek.

The heavy equipment remained upright on top of the fallen bridge deck at the bottom of the creek after the collapse, as if everything on the bridge simply fell in a directly vertical drop.

The collapse caused the grid of steel deck supports to pivot on its eastern pillar, causing the east side of the bridge deck’s steel girders to catapult into the air.

Staff Writer Eric Ayres contributed to this story.