CHARLESTON-
West Virginia Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox will be joined by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin as well as other state and local officials as the Division of Highways celebrates the re-opening of the Market Street Bridge connecting Follansbee, WV and Steubenville, OH. The event will take place on the West Virginia side of the historic structure, in Follansbee, Wednesday, December 7 beginning at 11:00 a.m. The public is invited to attend.
“The Market Street Bridge is an historic structure and was crucial to connecting the communities of Wellsburg and Follansbee, West Virginia to Steubenville, Ohio in 1905; communities which had been kept divided by the Ohio River,” stated Secretary Mattox. “Because of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Division of Highways was able to keep this historic structure in place by making the repairs necessary to extend its life, preserve its history for future generations, and keep those communities united.”
Ahern & Associates, a Division of Kokosing Construction, Inc. was awarded the $16,547,000 contract in November of 2009, which included repairs made to the structure, cleaning and painting and aesthetic lighting.
The project was also the second one where Highways gave the public the opportunity to go to the transportation website to vote on the color scheme for the bridge to be painted. Blue and gold received the majority of the votes.