By Dave Payne, Sr.
02/04/07 - PARKERSBURG — A future a half-century in the making is soon to be realized as the Corridor D bridge spanning the Ohio River over Blennerhassett Island nears its expected completion this fall.
Parkersburg Mayor Bob Newell sees the bridge as a gateway to southeast Ohio.
’’We will be much more accessible to southeastern Ohio and other parts of the state. The corridor gave us an outlet for south Parkersburg and downtown. The corridor had ended at the interstate (I-77) years ago and it wasn’t a very pleasant trip down Seventh Street through Parkersburg,’’ Newell said.
The mayor said the already-open sections of Corridor D have opened up new growth especially in south Parkersburg. Once the bridge is open and traffic is able to travel on the corridor from Ohio, that growth will increase, he said.
’’I think we are going to have growth all along the corridor. Some people have said that people will travel (U.S) 50 and bypass Parkersburg, but I don’t think that will be the case. It will make Parkersburg more accessible for south Parkersburg and downtown both,’’ he said.
Keith Burdette, president of the Wood County Development Authority and Area Roundtable, said the bridge will open an important east-west link that will make the area more attractive for companies.
’’One of our selling points is that two-thirds of the population of America is within overnight delivery. We focus a lot on our market and having a good north-south route (I-77) and now U.S. 50 will complement that with a major east-west highway. That will help us. People will know they can get goods where they want to easily,’’ Burdette said.
Project engineer Tommy Collins of Walsh Construction said the bridge’s arch, which was largely complete in late January, was a major part of the project.
The piers have long been set and the bridge itself is being built from the Ohio shore and extends east as far as the eastern shore of Blennerhassett Island.
Collins said the project will likely be completed and ready for traffic late this fall.
Newell said he expects to see significant growth soon off the Marrtown Road exit.
’’There’s huge tract of land ripe for development on the approach to Fort Boreman Park. In the next few years, there will be about 22 millions cars a year pass by the Marrtown exchange on that corridor. There’s been a lot of interest in the Patriot Plaza,’’ he said.
Belpre Mayor Bill McAfee said he expects growth on the Ohio side of the Ohio River as well.
‘‘It’s already helped us because of what businesses think and have already planned. The main reason they put the (Health Bridge) medical center on Farson Street was because a lot of the patients come from the Washington area. That center is completely full of medical-related businesses. We anticipate that end of town to develop even more. We just got word that the Kentucky Fried Chicken is going to build a new building in anticipation,’’ McAfee said.
At $119.9 million, the bridge project is the largest, single highway contract in West Virginia history.
Collins said weather has slowed construction at times.
‘‘Weather has impeded us this time of the year. The arch is 250 feet up and the winds are really heavy there. The wind has slowed us. You have the wind effect of the river already and it’s much worse at those heights. We’ve been working slower and you have to pick days when (to) sit still and when not to,’’ Collins said.
The 4,009-foot-long bridge will complete the four-lane upgrade of U.S. 50 from Clarksburg to the Ohio line. The route was one of the original 23 Appalachian corridors selected in 1965 under the Appalachian Development Highway System.
Local officials are anticipating the economic development opportunities. Located about 70 miles from Charleston and 120 miles from Columbus, Parkersburg is one of the bigger cities in a large area, Newell said.
West Virginia’s share of the contract is about $16 million, with Ohio paying another $8.4 million. The remainder will be paid with federal funding, said DOH spokeswoman Carol Melling.
The bridge will have more than 14,705 tons of structural steel.The bridge will use 16.3 million pounds of plate girder steel. Nearly 1.6 million pounds will be in the continuous girder bridge of three spans, ranging from 140 to 179 feet, comprising the 494-foot approach from Ohio 618.
Posted with permission from The Parkersburg News & Sentinel
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