BRIDGEPORT — The Aetnaville Bridge spanning the back channel of the Ohio River between Wheeling Island and Bridgeport is scheduled for demolition.

Charlie Reynolds, district manager for District 6 of the West Virginia Division of Highways, said the work will begin on July 28, 2025, and will last for about a year.

The Aetnaville Bridge, built in 1891, was closed to vehicular traffic in December 1988 and closed to pedestrians in 2016.

It has been barricaded since then.

That barricade has not stood the test of time, however, as a portion of the fencing has been removed.

Pedestrians and at least one bicyclist used the bridge Tuesday afternoon to cross from Bridgeport to Wheeling Island.

The project has a $2.5 million price tag and is being put out for bid, Reynolds said. The state of West Virginia owns the Ohio River and, hence, most bridges that span it. That put the demotion decision in the hands of the WVDOH.

Once a popular span for joggers and cyclists, Reynolds said the bridge has outlived its use and needs to come down for safety reasons.

“We’ve had some problems with people still crossing it, cutting the gates open and coming through,” Reynolds said. “We even had a track team running across it. It’s in pretty bad shape. When you leave something like that sit, it just gets worse and deteriorates over time.”

In 2020, West Virginia officials solicited bidders to buy the bridge but none came forward.

Meanwhile, another area bridge will close temporarily for repairs.

The Stone Arch Bridge in Elm Grove, after sitting in limbo for years, will close in March. WVDOH officials said the bridge, the oldest extant bridge in the Mountain State at around 207 years old, is at a critical period and needing repair.

That closure will eliminate one of the main throughways in the Elm Grove neighborhood of Wheeling.

Reynolds said a concrete date for the closure has yet to be decided. That will be up to the contractors. The bridge is expected to be closed until the end of the year.

The structure, built in 1817, spans Little Wheeling Creek and is part of U.S. 40. That part of the highway connects the Kruger Street and Elm Terrace areas of Elm Grove to businesses such as Patsy’s Pizza and WesBanco’s Elm Grove branch. Without the bridge to use, motorists will have to drive around the area to cross the creek.

The official detour, Reynolds said, is Interstate 70. With that detour, a person driving U.S. 40 from Triadelphia would enter I-70 and exit at Washington Avenue then double back to get to the other side of the bridge.

There are other ways around the construction area, Reynolds said, but WVDOH has I-70 as the official detour because that is a route all vehicles can use. Some other local detours aren’t viable for large vehicles like tractor-trailers.