ELKVIEW, W.Va. — The cost of the private bridge required to reopen the Crossings Plaza near Elkview in Kanawha County will be very expensive, according to Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper.
“Contrary to some of the people who were just so sure this was such a simple thing to do, I believe the actual cost of the bridge will exceed or come close to a million dollars,” Carper said Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston signed an order last week putting the property into receivership in order to get the bridge, destroyed in the June 23 flood, rebuilt. Plaza owner Bill Abruzzino of Tara Retail Group and property mortgage holder U.S. Bank could not reach a settlement on who should pay for the bridge. The bank, which holds a $13 million note on the property, will pay for the bridge under the judge’s order.
The plaza hasn’t been opened since the bridge went out. Several hundred people lost their jobs.
Carper said there’s been constant communication with the court-appointed receiver since the order.
“We have been contract with the receiver, the county has, on a daily basis almost. Working with him, we made it very clear the original building permit would be transferable. Normally they are not but we aren’t about to slow this thing down any,” he said.
Carper is hopeful construction can begin soon but he said the future of the plaza and its ownership remains a question mark.
“It’s almost good news and bad news. The good news is it (the bridge) should be open in March or April. The bad news is these people will slugging it out in court for a long time to come,” Carper predicted.