WHEELING, W.Va. — The West Virginia Division of Highways has committed to preserving the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, even if it means the historic bridge never opens to vehicular traffic again.
Tony Clark, the District 6 Engineer for the Division of Highways (DOH) told MetroNews that recent bids for the 2021 rehabilitation project of the bridge will go before a DOH committee Monday. From there, officials will determine the work that needs to be done and if it is feasible to open the bridge that has been closed since the fall of last year.
Clark said the DOH will look at all options of approaching the scheduled work on the bridge, a bridge that connects downtown Wheeling and Wheeling Island.
“If that means that it needs to remain closed to vehicular traffic so that vehicles don’t damage it and end up causing it to collapse, then that may be what happens,” he told MetroNews.
The bridge sustained significant damage in June 2019, days after celebrating its 170th birthday, when an oversized bus crossed it, causing damage to its cables. It reopened in August of last year with further restrictions, only for it to be closed less than a month later due to sustained damage from other oversized vehicles.
Clark said after the first incident in June of last year, an in-depth inspection was done by state and local officials. The inspection uncovered an issue in one of the anchorages that retained the ends of the cables.
He added that rehabilitation plans first released in April of this year is not intended to strengthen the bridge, which was designed in the mid-1800s, but only to inspect and maintain what is there. The initial plan detailed primarily work on the vaults and structure holding the cables together. There could also be a complete replacement for some cables on the bridge.
The bridge, which is only open to pedestrians and bikes at this time, is scheduled to have the work done in the spring of 2021.
Clark said the community in the Wheeling area has differing opinions on what to do with the bridge, which he called ‘a symbol for the state.’
“One camp just wants a bridge from Wheeling Island to mainland West Virginia. There is another camp that wants the suspension bridge preserved in its state indefinitely,” he said.
Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott has expressed to MetroNews his desire to ‘do whatever it takes’ to preserve the bridge while attempting to reopen it.
The suspension bridge project was one of 18 projects that the DOH took bids for on November 17.