Photo by Eric Ayres The Washington Avenue Bridge in Wheeling is expected to be closed later this year when the West Virginia Division of Highways begins a project to replace the span.

WHEELING — Several bridges in the city of Wheeling will be improved or replaced within the next few years, according to City Manager Robert Herron, who recently met with West Virginia Division of Highways officials to discuss the status of these upcoming projects.

The state recently completed a $215 million I-70 Bridges Project between 2019 and 2023, replacing or rehabilitating a total of 26 bridges along Interstate 70 in Wheeling between Wheeling Island and Elm Grove, including the Fort Henry Bridge. The WVDOH also replaced the deck on the Market Street Bridge, which had been closed for two years after a fire at a homeless camp beneath the bridge damaged the structure. The historic Monument Bridge, the oldest bridge in the state of West Virginia, was reopened last year after a $3.8 million rehabilitation.

Several other bridge projects are on tap, according to the WVDOH’s most current schedule, Herron told members of Wheeling City Council last week. Some of the dates for anticipated projects have fluctuated a bit, he noted.

“The most significant news here is that the Washington Avenue Bridge was let and awarded,” Herron said. “The contractor that was selected is the same contractor that did the Market Street Bridge that was closed as a result of the fire from the homeless camp. I don’t have a schedule as to when the bridge would be closed, but that project is moving forward, and I would anticipate some type of news from the West Virginia Department of Highways within the next 30 days.”

Herron noted that the Washington Avenue Bridge replacement is slated to begin later this year. Over the past several years, this busy bridge has remained structurally sound and able to maintain vehicular traffic, but it has received poor ratings during inspections, which ultimately led to its load limit to be reduced to 5 tons. The Washington Avenue Bridge was temporarily closed three years ago while repairs were made to the structure in order to keep it open until plans were solidified to replace it.

While no specific date has been released about the timeline for the bridge replacement, Herron said he expected the state’s contractor to begin work sometime later this summer.

“Based on some scheduling that we’ve coordinated with them on our sewer project out there, I would anticipate sometime in August or September that we will see a bridge closure out there,” he said. “It will be in 2025. It’s going to be a complete closure.”

Two different options had been explored regarding the method of replacing the bridge – with one option of maintaining one lane of traffic and another option of completely closing the bridge during the replacement. Early estimates showed that the option of maintaining traffic would be much more expensive.

The decision to completely close the span is expected to have a significant impact on traffic flow in this busy area. The bridge provides an important access from National Road to Washington Avenue, which is one of the main arteries that leads to WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital and Interstate 70. Several businesses, including those in the adjacent shopping plaza as well as Wheeling University, are also accessible along this route.

Wheeling Councilman Ben Seidler questioned if there were plans to maintain some of the historic character of the Washington Avenue Bridge – with its old-school steel railing and steel superstructure that is painted green – when it is replaced. According to the city manager, the bridge is actually not as old as some of the other spans in Wheeling, and the structural character of the bridge is not a very desirable one.

“That bridge is actually a very unique design,” Herron said. “It’s actually a floating cantilever, and it’s not that old. I do know that nobody is happy with the design of that bridge. It was kind of a new design when it was done and built, and it’s been problematic. So it’s not going to be a cantilever bridge that floats on piers – it’s going to be a concrete structure.”

Herron noted that it was unclear whether any historical enhancements will be considered on the project. The state did take great measures in preserving the historic character of the stone arch Monument Place Bridge in Elm Grove when it was replaced, however, and a long-awaited repair to the Main Street Bridge downtown – which was constructed in 1890-92 – is also being designed with its historical significance in mind.

A few years ago, stones along the sidewalk on the east side of the Main Street Bridge’s deck were broken out when a motor vehicle slammed into the side of it. The crash killed both occupants and left a large hole along the wall, leaving that section of sidewalk closed with concrete barriers ever since then.

“The Main Street Bridge repair – which unfortunately was damaged through a very tragic accident – is scheduled to be repaired in 2027,” Herron said. “There are some issues with some historic preservation there.”

Some of the stones were retrieved from the bottom of Wheeling Creek below after the accident occurred. State officials have since been researching the bridge and have looked into purchasing cut stones from the same quarry where stones were obtained for the construction of the bridge more than 130 years ago.

In Elm Grove, residents had been bracing for the closure of the Shilling Bridge over Wheeling Creek. The bridge replacement there was expected to take place in 2026, but Herron noted that this project has since been pushed back.

“The Schilling Bridge public comment period just closed several weeks ago,” Herron said. “It’s now scheduled for 2027. It would be a six- to eight-month closure.”

Herron noted that the city had suggested that a temporary pedestrian bridge be constructed near the site so buses would not have to come out and take a difficult left turn onto National Road, but since there is no public right of way on the other side, this proposal will be unlikely to be included, he indicated.

“They don’t see a way to construct a pedestrian bridge which was requested by the city near the bridge for school children,” Herron said. “They’re still working on that, but that is unlikely at this time.”

Replacement of the Homestead Avenue Bridge in Woodsdale will take place in 2028 and will include pedestrian access, Herron noted. The Baker Street Bridge project in Fulton is scheduled to begin in 2029.

A bridge elimination will take place later this year on a span that has been closed to traffic on 28th Street in South Wheeling. That bridge will be eliminated and filled in, Herron said. That project is expected to go out to bid at the end of this year.

“All of these bridges are funded from federal and state dollars,” Herron noted. “There is no local match required by the city, so that’s good news. These are all of our bridges that are considered ‘poor condition.’ They are safe, but they do need to be replaced. And we are very appreciative of the DOH for investing millions of dollars towards these projects and getting these bridges replaced for the next generations to come.”