BHJ leader updates Follansbee Council on Market Street Bridge
Trending
FOLLANSBEE -- Follansbee Council received an update on the Market Street Bridge from Mike Paprocki, the executive director of the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission on Monday.
The regional planning commission had been approached by the West Virginia Department of Transportation to aid it in applying for a federal grant after the state agency closed the span, citing deteriorating cables, on Dec. 21.
Paprocki told Follansbee Council its condition hasn't improved, and state highway officials have made plans for the span to undergo an extensive inspection using a lift carried by a barge below it.
"By no means should anybody be on this bridge. They don't want to put heavy equipment on it," he said, noting state highway officials have found its anchorage is continuing to deteriorate.
Paprocki said the state Department of Transportation at least initially had expressed a willingness to invest $35 million to repair or replace the span while seeking federal money for the project.
He and others have suggested a new bridge could be built at the Market Street Bridge's present site or near it.
Paprocki earlier reported the bridge would be one of three, including two in the Charleston area, for which the state would seek grants through the Federal Highway Administration's Bridge Enhancement program.
The FHA is expected to make $30 billion available for transportation projects estimated at $100 million or more, and each state has been invited to apply for funds for three projects.
But Paprocki told council another source of federal funding also is being eyed: The U.S. Department of Transportation's Multimodal Discretionary Grant program.
He said a benefit to those grants is they require a 50 percent match, while an 80 percent match is required of the FHA grant.
Paprocki said another requirements of the multimodal grant is that part of it be used to create a bicycle trail, but the bridge already has been identified as a potential segment of a system of trails leading through the Ohio Valley to Washington, D.C.
Asked how soon the project's future may be known, he said following the span's inspection this summer, it may take 90 days for a report to be compiled, so a decision on the next move isn't expected until late December or early January.
But Paprocki said he's convinced state highway officials are committed to addressing the bridge.
"This administration at the Division of Highways is very sincere about doing something with it," he said, while noting following this year's election, the state will have a new governor and possibly, a new secretary of transportation, as well as other new representation in Congress.
Paprocki said he and other local officials will need to impress upon them the bridge's importance.
Mayor David Velegol Jr. said, following the meeting, that he's heard its closing has hurt businesses in Follansbee and downtown Steubenville.
Paprocki said he's heard some businesses on both sides of the river have had difficulty retaining employees because of that and ongoing work on the Veterans Memorial Bridge.
The work has resulted in that span being impacted by lane closures, including its exit to Follansbee and state Route 2 south, and has led to bottlenecks during peak traffic periods.
Paprocki said he's been told most lanes will be reopened in June but barrels will remain on the span's eastbound side while a cable in that area is replaced.
"Being without the Market Street Bridge exacerbates the problem," he said, noting the span had provided an alternate route during work on the Veterans Memorial Bridge that has extended for more than a year.
Currently drivers are required to bear north into Weirton and turn around if they wish to access state Route 2 south.
Paprocki said he's witnessed multiple drivers making U-turns from Main Street, Weirton, to veer south on the highway and urged them not to do that.
"Whoever is doing this -- please, this is not a safe situation," he said.