Washington Avenue Bridge On Schedule For October Reopening
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WHEELING -- The Washington Avenue Bridge -- closed to traffic since December 2025 -- is on schedule to reopen as planned next month.
West Virginia Division of Highways District 6 Engineer/Manager Brian Kucish reports the $5.3 million bridge replacement project is expected to be finished and cleared for automobile use sometime in October.
"We expect to have it open next month, but there's not an official date," he said. "It is on schedule to be completed in October."
Work continues to finish the approach slabs on both sides of the bridge, and it is about to be paved, according to Kucish.
"There is still some guard rail that needs to be put up, and striping," he continued. "The project has gone as planned."
The biggest challenge in doing the work has been the traffic and diverting vehicles to the intersection at Interstate 70, Kucish said.
The bridge, owned by the city of Wheeling, was closed and demolished as part of a replacement project WVDOH is administering through the federal off-system bridge program. Charles J. Merlo Inc. is the contractor on the project.
The span has been officially closed since Dec. 3, 2025. Just over a month later, on Jan. 7, a section of the old bridge gave way and fell into Wheeling Creek during demolition.
An excavator and a dump truck were on top of the bridge pulling up the bridge deck when the incident occurred, dropping that section of the bridge into the water below, according to information provided by WVDOH.
Three workers fell into the creek and sustained injuries.
The project, meanwhile, has continued to remain on schedule, according to WVDOH.