Northern Panhandle Bridge, Closed in December, To Be Replaced

A Northern Panhandle bridge on the Ohio River will be replaced thanks to a federal grant.

The Market Street Bridge in Brooke County has been closed since December.

It will be replaced with $87.5 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said Friday.

The 119-year-old suspension bridge has failing cables, and the West Virginia Division of Highways restricted weight on the bridge before closing it to traffic late last year.

Residents looking to connect to Steubenville, Ohio, have faced lengthy detours around the closure.

The funding comes from a bridge program that was part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Capito supported and President Joe Biden signed.
West Virginia has more than 2,000 bridges that need replacement, at a cost of more than $1.2 billion, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.