Contractors for Parkersburg Bridge Partners worked on the Memorial Bridge Friday afternoon. The sale of the bridge from the City of Parkersburg to the company closed last week. (Photo by Art Smith)

PARKERSBURG — The Memorial Bridge is now owned by a private company, although the City of Parkersburg will continue to operate the toll bridge while a $50 million rehabilitation project is under way.

“I’m very pleased that we’ve come to this point,” Mayor Tom Joyce said Friday, a week after the sale to Parkersburg Bridge Partners officially closed. “It’s not the final stage.”

With the transfer of ownership, the company has begun the rehabilitation project to extend the useful life of the 67-year-old bridge by at least 50 years. The span was closed to traffic for an estimated 45 days starting Tuesday. Parkersburg Bridge Partners representatives have said the closure will allow contractors to replace welds that connect the steel grid deck beneath the driving surface to the rest of the superstructure.

Once the bridge reopens, traffic is expected to flow with at least one lane open as the project continues through October 2023.

With Kokosing Construction as the lead contractor, the work will include a new paint and coating system, complete deck removal and replacement, replacement of the existing bridge parapet handrail, steel superstructure repairs, concrete pier and column repairs, new LED roadway and decorative lighting and repaved and improved bridge roadway approaches.

Contractors for Parkersburg Bridge Partners worked on the Memorial Bridge Friday afternoon. The sale of the bridge from the City of Parkersburg to the company closed last week. (Photo by Art Smith)

As part of the sale agreement approved by Parkersburg City Council in May, Parkersburg Bridge Partners, a subsidiary of Colorado-based United Bridge Partners, will pay the city $4 million and make no claim on approximately $11.8 million the city has allocated over the years for maintenance and the eventual demolition of the bridge.

“I look forward to working with City Council to figure out how to appropriate those funds,” Joyce said, adding that he hopes to use the money to make a significant, tangible improvement to the quality of life for people in the city and region.

Joyce said the city will continue to pay the bridge toll workers during the closure, and Parkersburg Bridge Partners will reimburse those funds. The city will operate the bridge during the rehabilitation work, with the company providing reimbursements for the expenses.

Once the project is complete, the bridge will move to a fully electronic tolling system and the price will rise to at least $1 for a single trip.

The primary detour while the Memorial Bridge is closed directs motorists to the Belpre Bridge in downtown Parkersburg. Police Chief Scott Elliott said officers are monitoring traffic downtown, particularly during morning and evening commute times, and there have been no major issues.

The Memorial Bridge, shown Friday, is closed as contractors for Parkersburg Bridge Partners begin a $50 million rehabilitation project. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

“It is busier obviously, but it is flowing,” Elliott said.

A representative for Parkersburg Bridge Partners said the company would have a statement on the closing of the sale next week.

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