Memorial Bridge contractor leases site from Parkersburg Utility Board

$50M rehabilitation project expected to begin in March

PARKERSBURG -- The lead contractor on the $50 million Memorial Bridge rehabilitation has a new base of operations near the site.

The Parkersburg Utility Board recently approved a lease with Kokosing Construction Company Inc. for a temporary office and lay down area between the utility's administration building and the toll bridge approach.

Kokosing will pay the PUB $500 a month for 22 months, with the ability to extend the lease month by month for up to six months, according to a memo provided to board members by PUB Manager Eric Bennett. The lots being leased are vacant.

"We mow it. We're not using it right now," Bennett said.

The board voted 5-0 to approve the lease during its meeting Tuesday.

Parkersburg City Council in May approved an ordinance to sell the Memorial Bridge to Colorado-based United Bridge Partners. The company plans to start a large-scale rehabilitation project next year that will extend the bridge's useful life by at least 50 years.

That work is not expected to begin until March, according to Ken Szeliga, vice president of construction and operations for United Bridge Partners. But the lease needed approval at this time because of some early steel repair work to be done in late November.

That 12-week project was previously planned by the city and will "reinforce the steel superstructure in advance of full-scale rehabilitation activities," according to information provided by United.

The company is also working to finalize a couple of items before it takes ownership of the bridge from the city. Environmental clearance and permitting to authorize the rehab project at the state and federal levels is under way, with completion targeted for February, Szeliga said. An American Land Title Association land and title survey documenting the property must also be done.

UBP has said tolls will not increase while the rehabilitation work is being done, a process expected to take 21 months. Once it's completed and a new electronic toll system is up and running, the price will increase to a projected $1 for a single trip, although there will be options for unlimited crossings at a monthly rate using a transponder.

The company will pay Parkersburg $4 million for the bridge and make no claim on $15 million the city has encumbered for the bridge.

UBP and Kokosing have pledged to use union labor and local trade groups for the project.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.