Blennerhassett Bridge set to open June 13
By Brett Dunlap
PARKERSBURG — The Blennerhassett Bridge is set to open June 13.
Gov. Joe Manchin, Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox and other West Virginia officials, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and other Ohio officials will play host to a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of the Blennerhassett Bridge over the Ohio River June 13 at 1:30 p.m. in Wood County.
‘‘For the West Virginia Department of Transportation, this event will not only celebrate the opening of the bridge, it will also mark the completion of Appalachian Corridor D along U.S. Route 50 from Clarksburg to the Ohio state line in Wood County,’’ said Karen Zamow, spokesman for WVDOT. ‘‘The ceremony is expected to last until 3 p.m.; we will need some time to get things cleaned up and then the bridge will be open to traffic shortly thereafter.’’
The highway will help reduce the number of heavy trucks continually rolling through the city streets of Belpre and Parkersburg.
Local officials have said the completion of Corridor D will open areas for development.
The Parkersburg area has been looking forward to the completion of Corridor D for decades, Parkersburg Mayor Robert Newell said.
‘‘This bridge will open up the Parkersburg area to southeast Ohio,’’ he said.
Newell said traffic estimates for the bridge will result in millions of people passing through the area every year.
Developments have started around the area to take advantage of the bridge and the access it provides.
‘‘People should see a lot of growth around the area once the bridge is open,’’ Newell said. ‘‘There will be a tremendous amount of traffic going through the area.’’
Belpre Mayor Mike Lorentz said he is hoping the bridge spurs development of the west side of Belpre.
With available land between the plants and the highway, Lorentz hopes people will develop the area around the bridge approaches because of its access to the highway and the bridge.
‘‘We have had people look at that area,’’ he said.
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 projects undertaken by the state.
“West Virginia continues to move forward by opening its doors to commerce and adding safe, modern transportation,” Manchin said Tuesday. “When this bridge opens, we mark the completion of a major highway that connects north central West Virginia and I-79 to Ohio and points westward.
“It will be an exciting day for the planners and supporters of the Appalachian Corridor highway system, and for residents of Ohio and West Virginia. This type of infrastructure is another part of the puzzle to our state’s continued economic success.”
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.
As of April, crews still had to put down the latex modified concrete overlay on the bridge deck, complete painting, asphalt work and install guardrails.
On the Ohio side of the Ohio River, crews with the Ohio Department of Transportation have worked on the approaches, overpasses and connecting roads to the bridge.
“ODOT is thrilled to be working with WVDOT to open this bridge and its approaches to traffic,” said ODOT District 10 Deputy Director Larry Woodford. “It has been a large-scale and challenging joint project, and its successful completion means improved safety, decreased congestion and improved mobility, not just locally, but for the entire region.”
This project serves as the last of a series of four-lane improvement projects to take place between Cincinnati and Clarksburg, said ODOT District 10 public information officer Stephanie Filson.
Posted with permission from the Parkersburg News
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