State highway officials don't plan to begin work on a replacement for the 73-year-old bridge connecting St. Albans and Nitro until 2013, which mayors of both cities say is unacceptable.
Nitro Mayor Rusty Casto and St. Albans Mayor Dick Callaway say they have safety concerns about the aging two-lane bridge.
Steve Campbell, district bridge engineer for the Department of Highways, said the bridge is thoroughly inspected each year and is not unsafe.
The 2007 inspection is scheduled for later this month and will take about a week, Campbell said.
Casto said the interstate bridge collapse last week in Minneapolis has reignited concerns about the condition of the local bridge.
For most of its existence, it was known as the St. Albans-Nitro Bridge. Its official name now is the Dick Henderson Memorial Bridge. Henderson a three-term legislator and long-time spokesman for Union Carbide died in 1998.
"The people in this town are afraid of that bridge," Casto said. "I think that collapse in Minnesota was a wake-up call for a lot of people."
Casto said concrete is eroding and guardrails are bent.
Callaway said a four-lane span is urgently needed.
"There is a lot of community concern over that bridge," Callaway said. "Everyone feels very uncomfortable about it."
He said the bridge is so narrow that if two buses or trucks cross at the same time, their sideview mirrors could touch.
Campbell said the state also has received calls from people concerned about the bridge's condition.
"There has been a lot of anxiety from people just over the way the bridge looks," Campbell said. "But I have told them we have an excellent inspection program and that the bridge is rated in fair condition."
The schedule calls for work to begin on a new bridge in 2013, Campbell said.
Construction would take about two years, he said.
Casto said state officials have told him a new bridge would cost about $100 million.
"They have told me that they don't have a lot of money to put into bridges," Casto said. "But I believe the federal government is going to start taking a closer look at bridge safety and will put more money into them."
People interviewed at the Nitro Senior Center were uneasy.
Jane Loney, 77, remembers crossing the bridge when it was new. In those days, motorists had to pay a 35-cent toll.
Seventy-three years later, she said she can't believe it's still in use.
"I'm scared of the bridge," Loney said. "All those cars going across it everyday I try not to think about it. I just wonder if it's being inspected properly."
Don Ullum, 84, said he can feel vibrations when he crosses.
"I cross it everyday and I get worried," Ullum said. "Especially when there is a lot of traffic on it. You can feel it quiver like it could fall apart."
James Jarrett, 79, said he avoids the bridge during the morning and afternoon rush hours when cars are stuck bumper-to-bumper.
"I don't want to be stuck on it," Jarrett, 79, said. "It's rusted and it's falling apart. It needs to be replaced."
Casto and Callaway are to have a joint a news conference today to call attention to the bridge. Representatives from the Manchin administration are expected to attend.
"We just want the powers that be to know people are worried about the bridge," Callaway said. "Hopefully, we can speed up the process of putting in a new one in."
Contact writer Matthew Thompson at matthewthompson@dailymail.com or 348-4834.