CLOSED - Workers with the West Virginia Division of Highways placed barrier cones at the Market Street Bridge Thursday, closing the bridge to vehicle and pedestrian traffic indefinitely. The closure comes following the bridge’s weight limit being lowered from five to three tons after the bridge’s last inspection in September. It also follows the Dec. 11 closure of the younger Jennings Randolph Bridge in Chester. -- Christopher Dacanay

STEUBENVILLE — The future of the Market Street Bridge appeared to be unclear after it was unexpectedly closed early Thursday.

Asked on Thursday about the span’s status, Charlie Reynolds, District 6 manager for the West Virginia Division of Highways, said, “Well, that’s being looked at. It could be reopened. I’m not saying that bridge will ever open. I don’t know. I’m not a bridge engineer.”

“I’m like everybody else, I’m waiting to see what the engineers say,” said Reynolds, adding, “Now that it’s shut down, they’ll analyze the best route to go from here.”

He didn’t know how soon a recommendation may be made.

Reynolds said the closing was prompted by an issue that has been an ongoing concern, the corrosion and deterioration of cable bunches supporting the bridge. Concerns about those cables were raised after a Wednesday inspection.

CLOSED — The Market Street Bridge was closed Thursday to vehicle and pedestrian traffic indefinitely. The closure comes following the bridge’s weight limit being lowered from five to three tons after the bridge’s last inspection in September. It also follows the Dec. 11 closure of the younger Jennings Randolph Bridge in Chester. -- Christopher Dacanay

He said the deterioration can be addressed through various procedures and materials, including wrapping and epoxy, and it is why the span was being inspected every three months.

Reynolds said until the engineers have made a recommendation, he can’t say what work may or may not be done on the span. He said it’s likely, as with current work on the Jennings Randolph Bridge in Chester, that, if a decision to repair the Market Street Bridge is made, the work will soon follow.

State highway officials have designated the Veterans Memorial Bridge, just north of the span, and the new Wellsburg-Brilliant bridge south of it as official detours during the closing.

Ongoing work on the Veterans Memorial Bridge has led to lanes being closed periodically through much of the year.

Jimmy Wriston, state secretary of transportation, said Thursday, “I had my bridge inspection program manager in my office at 6 p.m. (Wednesday) informing me about what he was seeing in the data. The report was still pending at that point. He showed me enough to make the decision that we needed to do something there. We considered trying to nurse that bridge along and try to get though another month or so and keep that bridge open. It’s just not in the shape where I’m comfortable with doing that.”

Wriston said the span’s condition has long been a concern.

“The Market Street Bridge has a long history. About 13 years ago, we had issues with the Market Street Bridge. It’s a cable-stay bridge. That means it is supported with strands of cable from towers. Thirteen years ago, we didn’t have a Roads to Prosperity program. We didn’t have the resources to repair that bridge. What we did do is decide we can make some minimal repairs in order to keep that bridge open at the time. We knew those repairs were temporary. We knew those repairs would get us through a decade. That’s what we were hoping for,” he said.

Wriston referred to about $17 million in renovations, including repairs to its towers, Ohio approach and trusses and replacement of a mobile inspection platform, in 2011.

“Today, that bridge has continued to deteriorate. Just about a year ago, I ordered that bridge to be inspected in three-month intervals so that we could monitor it. Once we moved to that three-month inspection cycle, we started noticing trends,” said Wriston.

“About six months ago, I signed a commissioner’s order that lowered the posting limit for the bridge to three tons. We installed a barrier over the top to keep trucks off the bridge. We were still able to let cars use the bridge safely because we knew exactly where we were with it. Over the next inspection cycle, including the one we just finished yesterday at about dark, we saw even with the trucks off, that the bridge continued to deteriorate.”

State Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Wellsburg, asked why the bridge was reopened Wednesday afternoon following the announced inspection and remained open until early Thursday.

Reynolds said inspectors for the span reported their findings to engineers, who made a recommendation on what to do and that was then acted upon.

“Everyone acted as fast as they could, to do the right thing,” he said, adding, “There’s no ball dropped here. We acted as fast as we could.”

In a separate statement delivered earlier on Thursday, Wriston said the Department of Transportation’s bridge inspection program “is the best in the country. That’s not speculation; that’s just the facts. The bridge inspection program was borne out of tragedy here in West Virginia many years ago with the collapse of the Point Pleasant bridge just around this time of year.”

Wriston referred to the Silver Bridge in Mason County, which collapsed on Dec. 15, 1967, causing 31 vehicles to fall into the Ohio River, killing 46 and injuring nine.

Wriston continued, “Our bridge inspection folks go above and beyond to care for more than 7,000 bridges in West Virginia to ensure they are safe.

Wriston said, “There are eight Ohio River bridge crossings up there. All eight need attention. There is no question about that. We’re checking them. We’re double-checking them. We’re making progress with repairs as we move through because we finally have the resources to do that. But as we move forward with making those repairs, it takes a little time to do that. It takes time to inspect a bridge. It takes time to analyze the data. Hardworking folks are out there every day putting their hands on every element of those bridges.”

Mike Paprocki, executive director of the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission, was asked his opinion of the Market Street Bridge’s future.

“To be honest, I think they want to keep this bridge open,” he said, noting WVDOT recently approached BHJ to assist it in applying for funds to replace the span.

Paprocki said it is one of three bridge projects for which state highway officials hope to receive money through the Federal Highway Administration’s Bridge Investment Program.

He said they have indicated the Market Street Bridge is their first priority, sparked possibly by recent and anticipated economic development in this region.

Paprocki said each state is expected to be awarded funds for at least one bridge project, provided its estimated cost is more than $100 million.

It took 20 years to plan and build the Wellsburg-Brilliant bridge, but Paprocki said that may not be the case for a replacement for the Market Street Bridge.

He said if a new span is built at the same location, less preparation will be needed because officials already know the environmental impact, traffic levels and other data.

“The biggest part is finding the money,” he said.

The abrupt closing caused confusion and frustration for many drivers and local officials on Thursday morning.

Steubenville Mayor Jerry Barilla noted state highway officials indicated the bridge would be closed indefinitely.

“Whether that means they’re going to do further inspections or there’s some issues with it, I really don’t know the answer” Barilla said Thursday morning.

Harry Marshall of Steubenville was among drivers who had planned to use the span but was forced to travel by the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

“Every time I come through here, there’s always something closed. I never understood that,” he said. “Now it’s going to be inconveniencing other people (so) there’s going to be a lot of unhappy people.”

(Staff writers Christopher Dacanay and Steven Allen Adams contributed to this story)