Starting very soon, getting around the Washington Avenue area of Wheeling will get more complicated, but those complications are necessary.

As early as this month, the Washington Ave. Bridge will close down for replacement. That bridge is one of the busier paths in the city, connecting National Road to the area around WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital, as well as providing an exit and entrance to Interstate 70 from that part of National Road.

The replacement for that bridge should take several months, officials say, which will make travel in that area tougher. But an inconvenience for several months will help avoid much greater problems.

The bridge already receives poor ratings in inspections. It has a 5-ton weight limit, which already prohibits fire engines and school buses from using it. The bridge closed temporarily three years ago for repairs that kept it open passenger vehicles to this point.

According to Federal Highway Administration data, West Virginia has 17.79% of its bridges rated in poor condition, the second-worst of the 50 states. If there’s an opportunity to improve one, it needs done.

Sure, it’ll be annoying, but ignoring the problem would be much worse.