The West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) is taking advantage of funding opportunities provided by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to renovate or replace several city-owned bridges in Huntington.
A unique provision of the IIJA bridge program, signed into law in November 2021, allows the state to spend at least 15 percent of the state’s total bridge allocation to off-system bridges, which may include city bridges or other spans not owned by the WVDOT.
“Of all the new programs included in the IIJA, this is the one that I can most get behind,” said Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston, P.E., following passage of the law. “This gives West Virginia a robust bridge program that will have an impact for decades. Furthermore, it will allow us to assist municipalities with their non-state-owned bridges without requiring a match.”
The IIJA bridge program allows 100 percent federal funding for certain off-system bridges, which typically require a 20 percent local match. Even for municipal bridges that would still require matching funds, the IIJA funding allows the WVDOT room to work with municipalities to structure the matching money, Wriston said.
The WVDOT is working with the city of Huntington to use IIJA funding to renovate or replace eight municipally owned bridges within city limits. The spans include two bridges in Wilson Court, the Enslow Boulevard Bridge, Whitaker Boulevard Bridge, Beechwood Bridge, Harvey Road Bridge, Madison Avenue Bridge, and the 12th Street Bridge in Ritter Park.
Most of the bridge projects are still in the planning phase, with design work on the 12th Street Bridge the farthest along. The WVDOT is hosting a public informational workshop on the bridge project Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at the Ritter Park Rose Garden Room With a View & Grounds, located at 1570 McCoy Road, Huntington.
Plans are to replace the bridge, built in 1927, with a span that resembles the existing bridge. The WVDOT undertook a similar partnership with the city to replace the Eighth Street Bridge in 2021.
The WVDOT hopes to begin construction in late 2025. Cost estimate for the new bridge is approximately $2.36 million.