Photo by Warren Scott Members of the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission learned of the latest developments in the proposed replacement for the Market Street Bridge from BHJ Executive Director Mike Paprocki on Wednesday.

STEUBENVILLE — Members of the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission on Wednesday learned another potential site has been added to a study for a planned replacement of the Market Street Bridge and that public hearings for the project could begin as early as April.

BHJ Executive Director Mike Paprocki said an area near South Street has been added as a potential touchdown for the proposed new span, though he cautioned it would be one of four possible connections being eyed.

The others are Logan, Ross and Washington streets – all north of the current span – as well as its present site at the intersection of Market and North Third streets.

BHJ member Marvin Six of Hancock County noted a no-build scenario also is included, as required of such studies.

“That is one option when you consider projects like this, a no-build,” confirmed Paprocki.

He noted the project received a boost recently with the allocation of $1 million in federal funds toward engineering costs by U.S. Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va.

Paprocki said the money can be applied to the 30% match required of the West Virginia Department of Transportation for the $87.5 million grant awarded by the Federal Highway Administration through its nationwide Larger Bridge Investment program.

He noted state officials have indicated they intend to use part of the state’s usual portion of federal transportation funds toward the new span.

Paprocki said it’s difficult to say if all of the scenarios will remain in view when WVDOT holds a series of public hearings on the project expected to begin in late April or early May.

He said specific dates and times for the hearings haven’t been announced, but he’s certain one will be held at BHJ’s office on North Fourth Street while another is planned for a Follansbee location.

Paprocki said the hearings will probably be like those held for the Wellsburg Bridge, with representatives of WVDOT meeting one to one with community members at separate stations with maps and other information displayed.

Asked if the new bridge must be wide enough for tractor trailers, he said, “It will have to be open to all traffic.”

Paprocki said federal officials are allowing preliminary studies for the span to be done through a process called categorical exclusion, an approach less extensive than those done for the Wellsburg Bridge. Paprocki said that’s because the new span would be in an area where one already exists.

But he said the studies will consider the new structure’s impact on the environment, including nature and any historic structures.

Built in 1905, the Market Street Bridge was closed on Dec. 23, 2023, by WVDOT officials who cited its poor condition, specifically deteriorating cables.

Officials in Steubenville and Follansbee have lamented its closing, saying it’s affected patronage at local businesses and inconvenienced residents who preferred the bridge to the higher speed traffic on the Veterans Memorial Bridge when traveling to medical appointments and other destinations.

Reduced traffic following the closing also has supported plans to remove traffic signals in downtown Steubenville between South and Franklin streets with the exception of one at Seventh and Washington streets.

More than 20 years old, the signals are due for replacement, said Paprocki, but current traffic volumes don’t support their replacement by the Ohio Department of Transportation. Paprocki said it would be too costly for the city to replace them, noting it cost nearly $2 million to replace several along state Route 7 recently, and he doesn’t believe they are needed at this time.

He confirmed plans call for each intersection to be made into a four-way stop, with turn lanes removed at many of them.

Asked if there are concerns about the four-way stops creating confusion among drivers, Paprocki noted there are others downtown and drivers should remember to yield always to vehicles to their left, as they would when entering a highway.

Paprocki said four-way stops reduce the number of serious accidents because all drivers must slow down when approaching them, adding they also are safer for crossing pedestrians.

He said removal of the signals may not occur until next year, however, because crews also will need to alter street markings, add signs and take other steps to accommodate the change.

The commission also heard from Brady Vannest, district traffic engineer for WVDOT, who noted crews are slated to begin work on the Veterans Memorial Bridge on Wednesday.

State highway officials have announced the $8.3 million project will involve concrete replacement and guardrail upgrades along the span’s west- and eastbound right slow lanes and is expected to continue into early August.

He confirmed the span may be closed on some nights, starting at 8 p.m.and ending at 5 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, while crews install a new cable.

Freyssinet Inc. has been hired for $1.8 million to replace the cable, which was cited as the reason for lane reductions on the span last year.

Vannest said in such cases, lighted message boards will be posted well ahead of the construction zone in West Viriginia and closer to the span’s approach in Ohio to avoid confusion at the interchange between state Route 7 and U.S. Route 22.

Vannest said crews have been razing homes along state Route 2 in New Cumberland to support the highway’s expansion there but didn’t have a start date for that project.

(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)