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Extra Credit: Owners share Memorial Bridge information

By Evan Bevins 4 min read

PARKERSBURG -- While the price of crossing will be higher when the Memorial Bridge reopens this fall, a ticket bought all the way back in 2022 or before will still be worth a trip across.

"If you have one ticket, you're going to get one trip," Parkersburg Bridge Partners General Manager Terry Velligan said. "If you have 20 tickets, you're going to get 20 trips."

To be eligible for those credits, motorists must obtain a transponder sticker for their windshield and establish an account for the all-electronic tolling system, he said. The minimum deposit is $25.

The cost for a standard, two-axle commuter vehicle with a funded transponder is $1 for a single trip. Vehicles without a transponder, or compatible system like EZ Pass, will have their license plate scanned and receive an invoice that adds administrative charges associated with obtaining the information and sending the bill, for a charge of $4.50 per crossing.

Parkersburg Bridge Partners discussed the credit program for unused tickets at an event Wednesday at American Legion Post 15 in the Traffic Circle, just up the road from where the final concrete pour on the rehabilitated bridge deck took place in the early morning hours. An opening date is expected to be announced in the near future, and bridge representatives are working to get the word out about how the new tolling system will work.

"Every month, we want to have at least eight events that we go to," Velligan said.

People can pre-register for transponders online or at upcoming open house events on July 26, Aug. 2 and Aug. 23 at the Legion. People can start getting transponders and turning in tickets after the company opens a temporary walk-up location near the Kokosing construction trailer on Garfield Avenue. They plan to eventually set up shop in the former West Virginia Division of Natural Resources office at 2311 Ohio Ave.

Belpre residents John and Patty Miller were among those attending Wednesday's event..

"We've got a bunch of tickets," Patty Miller said with a laugh.

John Miller said he appreciates the efforts by the company, which bought the bridge from the City of Parkersburg with a commitment to extend its useful life by at least 50 years, to educate the community about the changes underway.

"It's like anything new," he said. "It's just another change I have to go through."

The Millers planned to share the information they learned with neighbors in Oak Tree Village, a senior living area in Belpre.

Transponders and license plates will be scanned so vehicles will not stop when crossing the bridge, something Velligan said will be a simple process allowing for the free flow of traffic.

The company pledged $50 million to the rehabilitation of the span -- which includes removal and replacement of the bridge deck, a new paint and coating system and repairs to the steel superstructure, concrete piers and columns. Representatives of general contractor Kokosing Construction Company were on hand Wednesday to answer questions about that work.

Project Engineer Ben Robinson said one of the most frequently asked questions is whether the rehabilitated bridge is structurally sound.

"It is," he said. "It's a really good design by a really good design company (Modjeski and Masters)."

Former Parkersburg police chief Joe Martin went to work earlier this month for Parkersburg Bridge Partners as the facility manager. Martin said he decided to join on because of "the missions of the company itself."

"(It's) similarly aligned to what I did before, as far as serving the community, trying to make it better," said Martin, who retired as the city's longest-serving police chief in December 2021. "I want (Parkersburg) to be a great place, not only for me but for my family and everybody who lives here."

Belpre resident Darlene Williams said she appreciated the information she received Wednesday and is looking forward to the bridge reopening.

"I hate the traffic" in downtown Parkersburg, she said. "That's why I always use the (Memorial) bridge."

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

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At a Glance

* Parkersburg Bridge Partners plans to open a temporary walkup location near the Kokosing construction trailer on Garfield Avenue soon.

* People will be able to get free transponders for the MOV Pass toll system there.

* Unused bridge tickets can be turned in for credit, with one ticket worth one $1 trip across the bridge.

* Motorists must have an MOV Pass account and transponder to redeem the credit.

* Tickets can be turned in through Dec. 31, 2023, and credits can be used through Dec. 31, 2024.

* Toll is $1 for a two-axle commuter vehicle using MOV Pass or another system like EZ Pass.

* Vehicles without a funded transponder account will have their license plates scanned and will be billed, with administrative fees raising the cost to $4.50.

* More information is available at parkersburgbridgepartners.com

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