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One Memorial Bridge lane open while rehab underway

Two lines of traffic going opposite directions met Thursday afternoon on the Memorial Bridge, where only one lane is open as a $50 million rehabilitation project continues. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

PARKERSBURG — Three months ago, traffic moving simultaneously across the Memorial Bridge in two directions was standard operating procedure.

When there’s only one lane of traffic open during the $50 million rehabilitation project that started in mid-March, that doesn’t work.

It happened — again — Thursday afternoon, after one vehicle went forward despite the red light, and two lines of traffic met, without impact, in the middle. There haven’t been any collisions, bridge officials said, but when two lines of traffic meet, one has to back up and turn around.

“It seems as if people are seeing the stop light as a stop sign,” said Emily Myers Duke, communications director for Parkersburg Bridge Partners.

The company is a subsidiary of Colorado-based United Bridge Partners, which completed its purchase of the 67-year-old toll bridge from the City of Parkersburg earlier this year. Under the terms of the deal, the company will rehabilitate the bridge so that it has a useful service life of at least 50 years.

Workers guided motorists as they backed up on the Memorial Bridge Thursday afternoon after one line of traffic apparently started into the single lane open despite a red light being lit. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Kokosing Construction Company is the general contractor on the project, which will include complete removal and replacement of the bridge deck, a new paint and coating system, 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. It’s expected to be finished by November 2023, after which toll collections will shift to a completely electronic system and the price for a trip across is expected to go from 50 cents to $1.

The bridge is expected to close completely the last month-and-a-half or so of that period, as work done on the Ohio side will be too close to the traffic signals at Main Street and Ohio 7 to allow vehicles to back up, said Matt Lewellyn, project engineer with Burgess & Niple, the owner’s engineer on the project.

Until then, plans are to keep the bridge open, mostly one lane at a time.

“We want to make sure the bridge is open so the traveling public has ease of use,” Duke said.

That becomes more of a challenge when people disregard the stop light at either end of the bridge. Parkersburg Police have advised officers to increase patrols and enforcement around the bridge approach, Chief Matthew Board said.

A worker wrapped up for the day Thursday on the Memorial Bridge. Beyond him is a section where the bridge deck has been removed in anticipation of concrete for the new deck being poured in July. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

“The average wait time’s about three minutes,” Lewellyn said. “If it’s red, it’s red for a reason, and that’s because traffic is still clearing on the other end.”

Another issue is people driving slowly, he said, adding 25 mph is the ideal speed.

“That keeps everything moving and gives us a safe working environment for our workers and … for our drivers,” Duke said.

There are a lot of new, temporary additions to the bridge. Besides the workers, construction equipment and anchored barrier in the middle, a series of corrugated metal panels have been placed above and below the driving surface. They’re part of a system designed to contain paint, rust and coating being removed from the bridge components, Duke said.

“It’s environmental protection,” Lewellyn said. “We’re not leaking anything. They’re watching and monitoring that.”

The existing Memorial Bridge deck has been milled down, exposing the steel grid over support beams. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

That system was drawn up and certified by engineers, not put together haphazardly, he said.

The cables attached to the panels also provide a way for workers to anchor themselves as they move about the structure.

Large tarps draped along the sides of the bridge are part of the containment system as well, while also helping create a more controlled environment for painting, Lewellyn said.

“That tarping will move around from section to section,” he said.

Traffic will shift from one lane to the other as work is done to replace different sections of the deck. The open steel grid design will be replaced with a cast-in-place concrete deck system.

Corrugated metal panels above and below the Memorial Bridge’s driving surface are part of a system to prevent paint, rust and coating from getting into the environment, as well as offer points to which workers can anchor themselves. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Some portions of the deck have already been removed in the closed lane. Lewellyn said concrete is expected to be poured there in July.

Segments of the existing driving surface have been removed down to the grid in lines that parallel support beams, Lewellyn said. While the bridge was closed in March and April, some of the welds that attach the deck to the superstructure were removed to reduce the stress that had built up in them, officials said. Some of the welds were replaced, and bracing was added so the bridge remains structurally sound, Lewellyn said.

Work is also being done to the reinforced concrete piers beneath the West Virginia approach. Rust has developed over the years on portions of the rebar, deteriorating some sections of concrete covering it, Lewellyn said. Workers are removing small sections and the rust underneath, then replacing it with new mortar, a process he likened to filling a cavity.

The bridge remains safe and structurally sound, Duke said, noting United Bridge Partners has great experience in rehabilitating bridges while they remain in service.

“We know it doesn’t look pretty right now,” Duke said. “The analogy we’ve been using is kind of like remodeling a house. … It’s going to be something that I think the people of the Mid-Ohio Valley can be proud of.”

Workers repair reinforced concrete piers beneath the West Virginia approach of the Memorial Bridge Thursday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

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

Workers repair reinforced concrete piers beneath the West Virginia approach of the Memorial Bridge Thursday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

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