Photo by Shelley Hanson Remnants of a homeless encampment that caught fire last month must be cleaned up before an inspection of the Market Street Bridge can be done, said Tony Clark, West Virginia Division of Highways District 6 engineer.

WHEELING — A burned homeless encampment must be cleaned up before inspection of the Market Street Bridge can be done, said Tony Clark, West Virginia Division of Highways District 6 engineer.

The fire occurred underneath the bridge at about 11:30 p.m. June 7, forcing the closure of the span over Wheeling Creek.

Clark said Tuesday inspection of the bridge has not been done yet because remnants of the encampment must be cleaned up first.

Clark said he would be contacting a bridge engineer to see what the timeline on cleanup would be. The task likely will fall onto the DOH because the property is state-owned.

“That’s basically the path we’re going down,” he said. “The city puts it back on us, saying we own the property and it’s our right of way.”

Clark said the DOH is looking into getting some assistance with the cleanup from another state agency, though he is not sure which one yet.

Cleaning of another homeless encampment site under an overpass on 18th Street last December was ordered by the DOH, which hired Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration to do that job. The DOH also enlisted the company’s help to clean up another homeless encampment under a bridge at a site along 20th Street in October 2020.

Melissa Adams, homeless liaison for the city of Wheeling, said Tuesday that, since the property is state-owned, the DOH would be responsible for its cleanup.

Regarding the bridge structure, Clark said there is some concern that the bridge decking may have been damaged as it contains fiberglass.

“The bridge is unique in that it has fiberglass decking in it. It was an experimental project. I don’t know the history on it,” Clark said.

“There’s concern the heat damaged those. That’s part of the reason it remains closed – we haven’t been able to evaluate that.”

The Wheeling Fire Department Bureau of Fire Investigations has been investigating the fire. They have been trying to discover who was under the bridge at the time.

Wheeling Fire Department Spokesman Philip Stahl said previously the fire department’s two full-time fire investigators have the authority to arrest suspects if a fire is determined to be a criminal act. They work in conjunction with the Wheeling Police Department and Ohio County Prosecutor’s Office.

Those who have any information regarding who may have been under the bridge can call the WFD’s Bureau of Fire Investigations at 304-234-3770.

While the bridge remains closed, motorists are directed to use the Main Street or Chapline Street bridges. Traveling over the Main Street bridge has gotten a little more complicated over the last few days with construction work happening there.

The lane headed south toward Centre Market was closed until Wednesday afternoon, when work shifted to Main Street’s left-turn lane. Work is being done to replace part of the sanitary sewer line, including a manhole at the center of the intersection.

Wheeling’s city manager Robert Herron said Wednesday that the Main Street road work is expected to be finished by Friday, and that there haven’t been any reported issues with traffic congestion. Once the work is finished, crews will move further onto 16th Street.

“There’s going to be some work in that intersection for a few days, but they’re going to move over onto 16th Street, so Main Street should be open in the next day or so,” Herron said. “It is work in advance of the Streetscape project.”

Staff writer Alan Olson contributed to this report.