WHEELING—Lloyd Adams’ biggest concern is motorists’ safety — an issue at the front of nearly everyone’s mind following the collapse of a highway bridge in Minneapolis.
“Of course anything can happen, but our bridges are in serviceable condition,” said Adams, maintenance engineer for the West Virginia Division of Highways District 6.
The interstate highway system, including I-70 through Ohio and Belmont counties, is about 50 years old. Some local waterlines and bridges — such as the Wheeling Suspension Bridge constructed in the mid-19th century — are much older.
Repairs to this aging infrastructure keep municipal, county and state maintenance crews on the run.
And in the wake of Wednesday’s collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, WVDOH bridge engineer Dave Sada said bridges in District 6 are getting even more attention than usual.
District 6 stretches from Tyler County to Hancock County and includes six bridges currently in use that cross the Ohio River as well as one that spans only the back channel between Wheeling Island and Bridgeport. Sada said none of these bridges are similar in type to the one that fell into the Mississippi River.
Sada said most bridges are inspected at least once every two years by his department, but bridges spanning the Ohio River are inspected annually by hired consultants.
“We do not have the time, money or equipment required to inspect those large span bridges,” he said.
The Federal Highway Administration on Thursday issued a directive to state governments to inspect all steel truss bridges similar to the one that collapsed in Minneapolis.
Gov. Joe Manchin on Friday requested an immediate inspection of all West Virginia structures similar to the Minnesota span. Of the Mountain State’s 7,000 bridges, 18 are considered “similar structures.” None of those are located in the Northern Panhandle, but the state’s famous New River Gorge Bridge in Fayette County is among them. Also included are three bridges on I-79, two on I-77 and one on I-68, the Cheat Lake Bridge.
According to Sada, District 6 contains 494 bridges; of those, 103 are classified as structurally deficient and 63 are functionally obsolete. He said structurally deficient bridges are those that have weight restrictions, are in need of rehabilitation or are closed. Functionally obsolete bridges may be structurally sound but do not meet standards due to inadequacies in deck geometry, overhead clearances or approach roadway alignment.
Sada said his department has a nine-man repair crew available to handle problems throughout the district.
“Our interstate bridges are 50 years old and getting antiquated, and we could use some rehabilitation,” Sada said. “But we still keep them safe.”
Roads and Highways
Adams said District 6 has 2,350 road miles, 87.8 interstate lane miles and 37 ramps to maintain.
One major component of that local roadway system is the Wheeling Tunnel, the eastbound tube of which has been closed since Jan. 17. WVDOH officials and their contractor on the tunnel renovation project, the Velotta Co. of Sharon Center, Ohio, have struggled to resolve a number of obstacles to the project’s completion. Water has been leaking into the tunnel, possibly from an abandoned coal mine contained in the hill above, and it has been difficult to find a material with which to bond new tiles to the tunnel walls.
The project is about eight weeks behind schedule and $1 million over budget, but plans still call for the westbound tube to be closed for 107 days beginning in January for similar work. While the eastbound tube is closed, traffic from I-70 is being detoured through downtown Wheeling.
And crumbling roadways have been causing problems within the city as well.
On two occasions in June, chunks of concrete fell from the entrance ramp connecting W.Va. 2 with I-470 east. The debris toppled onto 29th Street, striking a vehicle and causing minor damage during the second incident.
Sada said his department will install a safety net on the underside of the ramp at a cost of about $37,000. The net will cover 29th Street and a portion of the adjacent sidewalk to prevent pieces of concrete from falling onto motorists or pedestrians. Sada said his department will continue to investigate methods to repair the concrete haunches that are the source of the falling debris.
Meanwhile on July 13, the entrance ramp to I-70 east from W. Va. 2 was closed because deterioration in two expansion joints on the bridge “were in immediate need of repair,” according to Sada. He said the joints are filled with a rubberized material that had failed, possibly because of increased traffic on the bridge as a result of the tunnel detour.
“Our primary roads are in good condition,” Adams said. “We do the best we can with the budget we have to work with. Our biggest concern is safety for the motorists.”
He said a high priority is to keep shoulders and ditches clear so water can drain from road surfaces.
“We also give a lot of attention to mowing and brush cutting along the roads,” he said. “It improves sight distance and gives motorists the ability to pull off the road if they must. It also improves drivers’ comfort levels because the road does not seem as narrow.”
Adams said crews are making improvements to W.Va. 2 in Tyler County between Paden City and Sistersville. That $1.2 million project includes slip repairs, guardrail replacement and repaving.
“We worked for six years to get that project out to a contractor,” Adams said, noting work started in June and should be complete this fall.
Adams also said the state repaving program has been hindered because of increases during the past five years in the cost of petroleum products. “The cost of asphalt and costs associated with getting it to the job have increased by 33 percent in the past five years,” he said. “What cost $65,000 five years ago costs $100,000 today.”
He said the average motorist pays about $230 in fuel taxes every year, pointing out that the 27-cent per gallon tax has not been changed since 1994.
Despite the ongoing work on W.Va. 2, Adams said there are no plans to widen the roadway in District 6. “Widening would be beneficial to economic development and safety, but Route 2 is a safe road,” he said.
For District 6 Engineer Bob Whipp, secondary roads are his biggest concern. “In recent years, people have moved from the cities into rural areas,” Whipp said. “The secondary roads were not built to handle the huge volume of traffic they are now getting. ... We do not have the money required to update those roads to accommodate more traffic.”
Adams said $45 million was spent in District 6 to repair slips and hill slides caused by flooding in September 2004 and January 2005. “We are just now finishing up some of that work,” he said.
City of Wheeling
Bridges, roadways and other infrastructure in the city of Wheeling are in good shape, according to Public Works Director Russell Jebbia.
“The City Council has done a good job of being supportive of our infrastructure priorities,” Jebbia said.
He pointed out the city is just completing waterline replacement in 35 locations throughout the city as part of a $12 million capital improvements project. Jebbia noted the city’s oldest waterline is a 20-inch main installed in the 1880s.
“It runs along Main Street from Seventh Street to 27th Street, up 27th Street to Chapline Street and south on Chapline to 45th Street,” he said, noting he is aware of other lines installed in the 1920s and ’30s. “It’s old, but it works.
“Overall, our water system is in pretty good shape,” Jebbia added. “We are planning to replace or upgrade the water treatment plant or to go into a well system. We are waiting for an engineering study to determine which would be most practical.”
Jebbia also said there have been a lot of improvements to the city’s sewerage system over the past 20 years.
“We have done a lot of separation projects in which we separated storm water and directed it into the river, while sanitary water goes to the treatment plant,” he said.
He said the oldest portion of the sanitary sewer system is in the downtown area. “It’s a brick arch sewer, which works much like a tunnel,” he noted.
Jebbia said $10.5 million worth of improvements to the treatment plant and pump stations have been made in recent years, and the city has spent $5 million on sewer separation projects.
Bridges in Wheeling also are in fair to good condition, according to Jebbia.
“We have nine roadway bridges and five jogging trail bridges and we inspect them every two years,” he said, adding that the city has 150 miles of street and 110 miles of alleys. “Last year we spent $400,000 on paving projects, and this year we have $388,000 for repaving on the streets where waterlines were replaced.”