Work to begin Monday on 17 Street bridge in Vienna
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VIENNA - Work will begin on Monday to replace the 17th St. bridge in Vienna.
Starting Monday, 17th Street in Vienna will be closed between 9th Ave. and 12th Ave. so work can begin on the replacing the bridge that goes over the Pond Run stream in a residential part of the city.
Vienna Mayor Chad Emrick said the project is being done through the state.
"It is being replaced," said Sarah Graley, construction area manager with the District 3 of the West Virginia Division of Highways. "The superstructure is being replaced. All the abutments will remain and be modified. There will be new girders and we will put a new deck on it."
Officials don't have an end date set for the project, but they are expecting it to be completed by March 1, 2027. Graley said it could be done sooner than that. It will depend on a number of factors including weather.
"We are hopeful it will wrap up before winter, but it could go to next March," she said. "Hopefully, it will be before that as long as the weather cooperates."
Earlier notices said that work would be occurring 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily during the week. Graley said that gave the impression that the bridge would be open at certain times which it will not.
"The bridge will be fully closed 24/7," she said.
Emrick said the work on the nearby 12th St. bridge that has been going on for a few months is expected to be completed by mid-September.
"Hopefully, that will be wrapped up fairly soon," he said. "Then they will have the work to do on the 17th St. bridge."
Eventually, 12th Street will be extended to connect to the West Virginia University at Parkersburg Innovation and Technology Center. However, the bridge work is a seperate project from that Emick said.
One the part of 17th St. is closed, traffic will be detoured onto 16th St., the mayor said.
Motorists are being asked to plan accordingly, according to a press release from the WVDOH District 3 office.
The mayor said both bridges were scheduled for maintenance work.
"They weren't unsafe in anyway, but if we allowed it to keep going (without any work), eventually they would (become unsafe)," Emrick said. "We are doing preventative maintenance and preventative work to ensure the safety of transportation in those areas."
The mayor said they would alert the public of any changes to either project though their social media platforms.