Wheeling city manager: Washington Avenue bridge will close after utility relocations; work could last through next summer

Wheeling City Manager Bob Harris told the Wheeling City Council on Nov. 4 that the Washington Avenue bridge project has been delayed by utility relocations but that the Department of Highways (DOH) is pushing to start the work. "AEP now has all the easements necessary for pole relocation," Harris said, and Frontier will follow with fiber-optic relocations.

Harris said those relocations must occur before the city can begin sewer work in front of the bridge and that the DOH will provide advance notice when the full closure is scheduled. "I would anticipate closure probably through August or September of next year," he said. When a councilor asked whether the closure would be complete, Harris replied, "It is a full closure."

Council members pressed staff about other local infrastructure concerns. Harris said DOH crews are backlogged on interstate streetlights, including lights near the Perkins exit, and that the agency had no clear explanation for current outages. He also said the agency is converting high-pressure sodium fixtures to LED, with work focused on certain islands.

The city will post official closure notices when DOH confirms timing, Harris said. No final contract awards or additional funding were announced at the meeting; the update was informational and part of the city manager's report.

What happens next: The city will publish closure notices when DOH confirms a start date; sewer work by the city is expected to begin immediately before the closure and will trigger the bridge shutdown.