WHEELING — Motorists stuck in construction traffic on the Fort Henry Bridge should not be concerned with the bridge’s safety, a West Virginia Division of Highways official said.
Eastbound traffic on the span backs up each morning and mid-afternoon as motorists detour onto Main Street due to construction in the Wheeling Tunnel. The bridge’s eastbound traffic pattern is single lane.
And a Friday accident in which a truck’s crane struck and bent the bridge’s girder on the Main Street overpass should not cause any problems, highways officials noted.
West Virginia Division of Highways Bridge Engineer Dave Sada said the Fort Henry Bridge, built in 1955, is safe for traffic, even with the tunnel construction. He also noted the bridge is not of the same construction as the Interstate 35W bridge that collapsed earlier this month in Minneapolis.
“We feel that all of our bridges are in serviceable condition,” he said, referring to those spans that cross the Ohio River.
Inspectors last surveyed the Fort Henry Bridge in 2006.
Some have questioned the safety of the Upper Ohio Valley’s bridges that span the river following the I-35W’s collapse. The local bridge most often mentioned is the Fort Henry, as construction also was being done on the Minnesota bridge at the time of its collapse, which caused traffic back-ups.
Minnesota highways officials have said they don’t believe the I-35W redecking project contributed to that bridge’s collapse.
West Virginia Department of Transportation spokesman Brent Walker said there is “no concern we can think of” with the Fort Henry Bridge.
“There’s no weight limit on the bridge, and we don’t see anything to be concerned about,” he said. “Even with the accident on Friday, we don’t believe there’s an issue there.”
There are 10 bridges in the Northern Panhandle that span the Ohio River. All 10 are considered safe by the West Virginia Division of Highways.
“If we thought any were not safe, they would be posted with weight limits or closed,” Sada said. “None of our bridges are the same type of structure as the one that fell.”
The oldest bridge in the district is the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, completed in 1849.
Sada said it is a cable suspension bridge, which was renovated in the 1980s and again in the late 1990s. It has a 2 ton weight limit, 8-foot overhead clearance barriers and 50-foot interval vehicle spacing.
Another bridge with weight limits is the Market Street Bridge stretching from Steubenville to W.Va. 2 north of Follansbee.
According to Sada, the bridge was built in the 1904 and renovated in the mid 1980s. It has an 11-foot overhead clearance and 5 ton weight limit.
He said an annual inspection of the Market Street span is scheduled for Aug. 27 by the Burgess and Niple Co. of Parkersburg.
Barr Engineering of Charleston will do a routine inspection beginning Monday of the Jennings Randolph Bridge at Chester.
Built in 1977, the Jennings Randolph Bridge is a simple span steel through truss type of structure.
Sada said the Veterans Memorial Bridge that connects Weirton and Steubenville via U.S. 22 is a cable stayed bridge built in 1990.
Three similar bridges crossing the river are the Fort Henry Bridge, 1955; the Vietnam Veterans Bridge (Interstate 470) in Wheeling, built in 1978; and the Moundsville Bridge, built in 1986.
The New Martinsville Bridge is a continuous steel cantilever truss bridge built in 1961.
Built in 1998, the Bridgeport Bridge crossing the Ohio River’s back channel from Wheeling Island is a steel deck girder bridge.
Sada said the old Bridgeport Bridge and the Aetnaville Bridge are closed to traffic, but the Aetnaville span is used by pedestrians.
“We may have to remove them someday,” he said.
The Fort Steuben Bridge, which connects Steubenville to Freedom Way in Weirton, is under the jurisdiction of the Ohio Department of Transportation.
ODOT spokesman Scott Varner said the bridge is a suspension bridge with stiffening trusses, so weight is supported at different locations.
The bridge was built in 1928 and has been targeted for demolition in 2009.
“It is safe and open to the public and will remain open as long as we determine it is safe,” Varner said. “It is inspected once each year and was last checked in October.”
There are 7,000 bridges in West Virginia, 18 of which fit the category of similar structure to the I-35W bridge.
They are located in Clay, Fayette, Harrison, Logan, Marion, Mercer, Monongalia, Nicholas, Raleigh, Wirt and Wood counties.