OFFICIALS FROM ODOT DISCUSS BRIDGE PLANS 1.13.2012

By WARREN SCOTT - Staff writer (wscott@heraldstaronline.com) , The Herald-Star

STEUBENVILLE - Officials with the Ohio Department of Transportation shared details of the demolition of the Fort Steuben Bridge as crews began removing a section of its deck Thursday.

The $2.3 million project will involve the removal of the span in segments, with an explosive blast to be used in late February or early March to remove the last of it, said Wasseem Khalifa, district bridge engineer for ODOT.

Khalifa said crews with the Jopseh B. Fay Co. of Russellton, Pa., have begun cutting into the span's deck and will remove it in 5-by-20-feet sections, leaving a 300-foot section at the center of the 1,584-foot span in order to maintain its balance.

That section, the ends of its trusses and its cables and towers will fall with a single blast in a procedure expected to occur in 15 minutes, he said.

Except during that time, officials plan to maintain at least one lane of north- and southbound traffic during the project.

ODOT officials haven't determined a specific date and time, though Nick Susich, an ODOT area construction engineer overseeing the project, said it's likely to occur about 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. All but one of the bridge's piers will be removed, also. The remaining pier will be cut by the contractor to serve as an observation deck for which Steubenville officials plan to build a pedestrian bridge.

Susich said pieces of the bridge, some weighing as much as 120,000 pounds, will be lifted from the Ohio River by crane and loaded onto several barges operated by the River Salvage Co. of Pittsburgh, a subcontractor for the project.

Susich said the contractor will own scrap metal from the bridge through a provision in its contract for the project.

"The Coast Guard requires that everything must be pulled out of the river within 24 hours," said Khalifa.

He added the demolition has been planned to occur before April, when traffic on the river is heavier and use of the Steubenville Marina below increases.

The Coast Guard's approval of the timeline was needed because the river will be closed to traffic for hundreds of feet within the span during the blast.

Khalifa said prior to the blast, tiny explosive charges will be set in the Ohio River to deter fish from circulating near the span.

Becky Giauque, public information officer for ODOT, said the project required the approval of several federal and state agencies and when that didn't occur before April last year, it was postponed.

In 2003, ODOT announced plans to close the span, noting the weight limit for the aging span had been lowered in 2004, resulting in less traffic on it. Prior to that, the span was used by many large trucks traveling to and from industries in Weirton. In the 1960s, when the span was part of U.S. Route 22, it was traveled by 20,000 vehicles daily. In 2007, its traffic volume was reported at 6,000 vehicles per day.

Khalifa said the deck, at just over 20 feet, didn't meet current safety standards and there was no practical way of widening it.

He added cracks in the deck found during a routine inspection indicated the span's joints had begun to fail. Such deterioration will worsen with time and is the reason ODOT must remove the span rather than allow it to stand unused, he said.

Susich said cold weather won't have as much impact on the demolition as it does for other highway projects. But he said work could be halted if a safety hazard is created by slick surfaces.

He said it's the first Ohio project for the Joseph B. Fay Co. but the company has been involved in many bridge demolitions in Pennsylvania and in removing the Bridgeport Bridge to Wheeling Island last fall.

BHJ 2011 YEAR IN REVIEW

As an elected official, interested citizen or customer, I hope you’ll take a few moments to read our quarterly newsletter, Regional Review.

This quarter we’ve highlighted the following topics.

· Report Card 2011
· Market Street Bridge Reopening
· Dollars and Sense: The BHJ Budget
· A Rideshare Program for Commuters

John C. Brown, Executive Director

MARKET STREET BRIDGE REOPENS TO TRAFFIC WITH NEW LOOK. 12.8.2011

After two years of structural and cosmetic work, the Market Street Bridge reopened Wednesday.

A Brooke County deputy said the bridge opened to traffic just before 3 p.m., and drivers were waiting in line to cross the bridge first.

The bridge is more than 100 years old and connects Brooke County, W.Va., and Jefferson County, Ohio. Community leaders from both sides of the Ohio River gathered on the bridge for an opening ceremony, including West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, who touted the multimillion dollar renovation project.

"The jobs (are) coming to the northern part of the state -- and trust me, they're going to come here -- and we need to be ready for them and one of the reasons, one of the ways, is to make sure our transportation is in order to handle (traffic) in the northern panhandle of West Virginia," Tomblin said.

W.Va. Secretary of Transportation Paul Mattox said the project cost about $16 million but said, "Just put it in context. A new bridge over the Ohio River is probably about $100 million to 125 million. … Try to find $100 million to $125 million in these economic times. It's a pretty easy decision to go ahead and spend the money and rehabilitate the existing bridge."

Even though officials said the repairs will add an extra 10 years of life onto this bridge, Mattox said he expects it to be in good shape for much longer.

"There were a lot of projects and we looked at the northern panhandle and we thought that this was one of the highest priorities to put some money into this structure. It's a very important link between Steubenville communities and Weirton, Follansbee (and) Wellsburg, and I think the community going to be very happy with the results," Mattox said.

It is still not clear how much the structure will cost to maintain. Mattox said because the lights are LEDs, they will use less electricity.

"I would think the cost would not be overwhelming and … there can be times where the lights could be either dimmed or some way to work on it," Tomblin said.

The governor said those undermined factors won't affect the bridge's economic value for the entire Ohio Valley.

"(It's) to make sure transportation flows freely over the river into Ohio, and it's something to be proud of. That was the whole intent when the bridge was built over 100 years ago and we can continue to do that as commerce continues to transverse the Ohio River," Tomblin said.

There is discussion among some leaders to rename the bridge after the late Brooke County commissioner and former sheriff, Bernie Kazienko. State delegate Jack Yost said he plans to propose that as a resolution to the state legislature.

http://www.wtov9.com/news/news/market-street-bridge-reopens/nFw3T/