Trending
Pretty much every major politician who has made their way through our area in the last year has found a way to emphasize the importance of infrastructure investment, with particular nods to the status of the Market Street Bridge.
I tend to take anything a politician says with a grain of salt, preferring a wait and see approach to the campaign promises made while they are seeking election.
This time, at least, it looks as if some of them were serious. Last summer, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito announced she had negotiated $87.5 million through the federal Bridge Investment Program to go toward the costs of developing and constructing a new bridge.
Former senators Joe Manchin and Sherrod Brown also sent out statements praising the funding allocation and talking about the importance of having a new bridge.
Built in 1905, the Market Street Bridge has carried various forms of traffic for generations of Ohio Valley residents. It was built for streetcars, motor vehicles and pedestrian traffic, with some saying construction of the bridge was part of an agreement proposed by businessman Dohrman Sinclair to convince the Follansbee brothers to build their steel mill.
While disruptive for many of us, the closure a little over a year ago really was no surprise. I can remember in my early years as a journalist, attending meetings where the conditions of both the Market Street and Fort Steuben bridges were the focus, along with the proposal to build what currently is known as the Wellsburg Bridge (still waiting on the naming announcement for that one.)
The Fort Steuben Bridge is long gone, and the Market Street Bridge is on its way, lasting much longer than it should have if we are all being honest with each other.
This week, state and federal officials announced the agreement we've all been waiting for - that West Virginia has accepted the federal BIP funds and pledged to match them.
We're still several years from a new crossing to replace the Market Street Bridge, but knowing this step has taken place is a bit of a relief, at least.
There will still be some concerns, though.
At some point, crews are going to return to the Veterans Memorial Bridge to address the necessary cable repairs on the eastbound side of the span.
The far right lane has remained blocked off for the last couple of years, even while work is not being done. I can only imagine they will need some extra room to work once the project gets going.
We've seen the chaos related to bridge repairs there, as well as road and median work leading to the span.
Last Friday, while a crew worked on a few areas of the median, closing off a portion of the left side of the westbound lanes, there was a car crash. That, combined with the work, led to hours of backed up traffic. It wasn't fun to see cars lined up between Main Street and Harmon Creek. It was even less so to have to sit in it.
I'm hoping that experience isn't a sign of things to come, because I think we're all tired of the bridge traffic of the last few summers. At the same time, there has been a tendency for traffic cones to just show up overnight.
Progress is being made to improve our area infrastructure. We just need to keep the faith a little longer than we thought, and continue to stay safe.
(Howell, a resident of Colliers, is managing editor of The Weirton Daily Times, and can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com or followed on Twitter/X @CHowellWDT)