What an interesting problem Wheeling city officials had to deal with over the past week: a construction crane that looms over downtown at the new Market Street Parking Garage swayed so much due to the high winds the area experienced that residents expressed concern to city police and public officials.
The matter prompted Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron to address the issue at Tuesday's council meeting.
"At the Market Street Parking Structure Project, I'm sure everyone has noticed there is a tower crane that has been erected at the site," Herron said. "The city is building a six-story building at that location, and the tower crane will be there for the duration of the project.
"Some questions were raised about it during the last wind storm event about a week ago. The structure is set up for certain wind events, and it's put into what is called weathervane mode. So if the wind is blowing, the arm of the crane may move about a little bit in the wind, and it's set to do that. That is a safety feature."
That's good to know -- the crane did sway significantly during the high winds the area experienced last week. A reminder that such movement is expected was the prudent thing for Herron to do.
How nice is it, though, to see such large-scale construction happening downtown. The last such construction took place when The Health Plan built its new headquarters. Now, along with the parking garage, the Doris Apartments at 10th and Main and the underway Downtown Streetscape Project, there is much good happening in Wheeling's downtown.
The coming year should see much change to Wheeling's skyline. It's time to look forward to the city's rebirth instead of focusing on its past.