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City manager outlines DOH bridge schedule, Washington Avenue closure and AEP streetlight concerns
Summary
City Manager Herron told the Wheeling City Council on May 20 that multiple state Department of Highways bridge projects are scheduled in coming years, that the Washington Avenue project has been awarded and likely will include a complete closure, and that the city will press AEP on widespread streetlight outages and LED conversion tariff issues.
WHEELING, W.Va. — At the May 20 Wheeling City Council meeting the city manager summarized a sequence of West Virginia Department of Highways (DOH) bridge projects that the city expects to affect traffic and pedestrian access in coming years and raised concerns about streetlight outages and utility LED‑conversion costs.
City Manager Herron said DOH’s current schedule lists repairs for multiple bridges the city has identified as in poor condition. Herron reported the Main Street bridge repair and the Shilling Bridge are on DOH’s schedule as shown in the department’s materials; he said the Homestead Bridge is listed for “02/1928” and the Baker Bridge for “02/1929.” Herron cautioned the schedule is subject to change and noted DOH will sequence projects according to district availability.
Herron also said the Washington Avenue bridge project has been let and awarded; he said he expects a closure and that “based on some scheduling ... I would anticipate sometime in August or September that we'll see a bridge closure there,” though he emphasized he was not speaking for DOH. When asked whether the Washington Avenue work would be a full closure, Herron replied it would be a complete closure.
On streetlights, Herron said the city is pursuing a meeting with AEP’s regional manager to address numerous outages and to discuss converting high‑pressure sodium fixtures to LED. Herron told council that while the city is converting downtown lights to LED, AEP has indicated the tariff for an LED fixture is “actually three times that of a high pressure sodium light,” and that AEP is automatically replacing sodium fixtures with LED because parts are difficult to source. “We need to put the burden back on them to manage that themselves,” Herron said, describing the city’s concern about both service reliability and potential budgetary impacts.
Herron also reminded council that city pools are scheduled to open June 1 and that lifeguard staffing could force occasional short‑term closures if shortages occur. He summarized federal funding deadlines tied to CDBG: the public hearing for the CDBG entitlement budget is scheduled for June 17 and council would need to adopt the plan at the July 1 meeting, a compressed timeline HUD recently provided.
Herron said the bridge projects are funded by federal and state dollars and that the city does not have a local match requirement. He encouraged coordination with DOH around timing and noted that pedestrian bridge requests remain under consideration but may be unlikely in certain projects.
