Work set to resume on Grant Street Bridge
Jul. 26—Work on the Grant Street Bridge is ready to resume and the project is still predicted to be completed by the end of the year.
The West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) reported Monday that workers will be back on the job after a two-month delay.
Work was stopped in May after "soft rock" was discovered underground which made the initial plans to anchor pilings for the central pier unworkable.
Bluefield City Engineer Kerry Stauffer said at the time engineers submitted a plan for Brayman Construction, the contractors building the bridge, to use casings full of concrete in which to anchor the pilings.
However, the change of plans had to be approved by Norfolk Southern's engineering consultants, a process that took several weeks. The bridge crosses the NS tracks in Bluefield.
After the new plan was finally approved, Brayman Construction, which had moved its crews to other job sites, then submitted a change order that costs an extra $800,000, Stauffer said, which had to be resolved through WVDOT before work could resume.
The bridge, built in 1941 to provide access from downtown Bluefield and Princeton Avenue to the town's North End and East Side, has been closed since June 2019 after it failed state safety inspection.
That left motorists with a lengthy and potentially hazardous narrow road to get in and out of those parts of town.
In October 2020, Gov. Jim Justice announced $10.5 million in federal, state and local funding to replace the decaying structure. Highways officials helped hammer out an agreement between Norfolk Southern Corporation and the city of Bluefield, who jointly owned the old bridge.
Under the agreement, Norfolk Southern agreed to turn over ownership of the bridge to the city of Bluefield and agreed to give city officials $500,000 as local match funding for construction. The West Virginia Division of Highways agreed to manage the project, with $8 million in funding from the Federal Highway Administration and $2 million in funding from state sources.
In the spring of 2021, Brayman was awarded a contract for $8 million to tear down the old bridge and replace it with a brand-new structure.
Replacement of the bridge will provide easy access to all parts of town and to US 19.
Contractors began disassembling the old bridge in August 2021, one piece at a time.
The new bridge, built on the same footprint as the existing span, will be 330 feet long. Construction is expected to be complete by late 2022.
Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com
