Bridge nears completion
By Brett Dunlap
4/12/2008
PARKERSBURG —Work is continuing on finishing up the Blennerhassett Island Bridge with officials hoping the span will be open to traffic this summer, if the weather cooperates.
‘‘We’re nearing the end,’’ project manager Kip Hall said Friday. ‘‘It all depends on Mother Nature.’’
The majority of the remaining work includes a latex modified concrete overlay on the bridge deck, which needs warm outdoor temperatures to be properly put down, Hall said.
‘‘We lack 14 placements of that overlay,’’ Hall said. ‘‘This material will help the longevity of the deck.
‘‘It is a really good product, but it is a bit fickle.’’
On average, one placement equals 300 feet, he said, adding the contractor can average around one placement a day.
The material requires consistent temperatures of 50 to 85 degrees and no strong winds.
‘‘There have been days we have had those temperatures, but we still had strong winds,’’ Hall said.
Strong winds through the valley and along the Ohio River have been a constant challenge for construction crews, he said, adding in the past they have built plywood wind barriers to shield an area so they could place the material.
Other work that needs completing includes painting the middle barrier wall that extends the entire length of the bridge as well as the outside parapet walls on the bridge, two-foot eight-inch walls along the side of the roadway designed to keep vehicles on the bridge’s road, Hall said.
Crews also still have two days of asphalt paving in the westbound lane into Ohio, two days of work place and grading shoulder stone, three days of placing guard rails as well as placing the aluminum railing above the parapet wall, painting the road stripes and doing some touch-up painting on the bridges arch, he said adding they still had seeding and mulching to do.
Hall said some aspects of the remaining work can be worked on simultaneously.
The 4,009-foot bridge, which spans the Ohio River and Blennerhassett Island, is the last major component of the Corridor D project to be completed. The bridge is one of the largest bridge construction project undertaken by the state.
The Corridor D project in Wood County is an 11-mile multi-lane highway connecting U.S. 50 in Wood County with U.S. 50 in Washington County at Porterfield. The entire highway was designated as a corridor in the Appalachian Development Highway System by the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965. It was later designated as part of the National Highway System.
At one time, it was believed the bridge would have been completed by the end of August 2007. Then the completion date was moved to the end of November. The completion date was then moved to late April or early May.
New estimates have the bridge ready for completion in late May to early June, said Susie Watkins, director of communications for the West Virginia Department of Transportation.
‘‘We have not set a date yet for the opening,’’ she said.
With access the road provide, the road will help cut down on heavy trucks continually rolling through the city streets of Belpre and Parkersburg.
Officials from around the area have said the completion of Corridor D will open up new areas of development.
‘‘Everyone is anxious for this bridge to open up,’’ Hall said. ‘‘If we can work seven days a week to get this done, we will.
‘‘We need the weather to work with us.’
Posted with permission from the Parkersburg News
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