The BHJ board received an update on plans for a new Ohio River bridge between Brilliant, OH and Wellsburg, WV. The executive director will request $36.8 million in funding from the Ohio Department of Transportation to help cover the estimated $90-120 million cost, with Ohio and West Virginia splitting costs based on the geography of the bridge. He hopes to secure funding approval in October. Separately, the board also received updates on other local transportation projects, including replacing a turn lane on Route 7 and widening University Boulevard.

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BHJ board receives bridge update
By WARREN SCOTT
Staff writer
STEUBENVILLE ä On Wednesday the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning
Commission received an update on the new Ohio River bridge to be built between Brilliant and
an area just south of Wellsburg.
BHJ Executive Director Mike Paprocki is slated to appear before the Ohio Department of
Transportationás Transportation Review Advisory Council on Oct. 13 to seek its approval for
construction funds for the span.
Paprocki hopes to secure a commitment from ODOT of $36.8 million to be paid to the West
Virginia Department of Transportation over 10 years. He confirmed the amount is in keeping
with talks between Ohio and West Virginia transportation officials that called for the Buckeye
State to contribute to about one-third of the projectás cost and the Mountain State, two-thirds.
The percentages are based on the geography over which the bridge will stand. The Ohio River
lies within West Virginiaás border.
The transportation review advisory council is made up of nine appointed members from
various walks of life and chaired by ODOT Director Jerry Wray.
Paprocki will be among representatives of several ODOT districts pitching a total of 24 major
transportation projects. The council is charged with prioritizing them according to a score sheet
that includes such criteria as average daily traffic, benefit/cost ratio, impact on air quality and the
economy and other funding sources.
He said itás scheduled to establish a draft list of priorities by Dec.10 and a final list by Feb. 25.
In January WVDOT and and ODOT reached an agreement over the division of an estimated
$2.8 million in pre-construction costs for the span. West Virginia officials agreed to pay 53.3
percent, or $1,549,240, and Ohio officials agreed to pay 44.6 percent, or $1,250,760.
The dollar amounts are based on a simple tied arch bridge and could change if a different style
of bridge is chosen.
Thatás because WVDOT is taking a different approach in advertising the project by inviting
potential contractors to submit the design they believe will be the most cost-feasible. The design
must meet certain conditions, such as the width between piers needed to accommodate barges.
The contractor also will be called to front the projectás cost, which will be reimbursed with a
mix of federal and state funds as they become available.

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The cost for the new bridge has been estimated at $90 million to $120 million.
Plans call for a contractor to be named in early 2016, with construction tentatively slated for
summer of that year. Officials have estimated it will take up to five years to complete the project.
A study commissioned several years ago by BHJ found a new bridge was needed to meet
traffic demands in the event both the Fort Steuben and Market Street bridges were closed. The
Market Street Bridge has since been closed and demolished, while the Market Street Bridge has
undergone $17 million in renovations.
Another BHJ study and a 30-member committee found a new bridge in the Brilliant-Wellsburg
area would encourage economic development in the southern ends of Brooke and Jefferson
counties and allow access by emergency vehicles and others during emergencies, such as land
and rock slides that have caused state Routes 2 and 7 to be closed at times.
The span has been named BHJás top transportation priority behind improving access to the
Veterans Memorial Bridge and the flow of traffic at the intersection of Route 7 and University
Boulevard.
ODOT officials plan to replace the short turn lane from Route 7 at the intersection of
University Boulevard with two lanes extending from an area just north of Garfield Elementary
School, under the railroad bridge and through the Brettell property at the southeast corner of the
intersection.
The project also will involve widening and resurfacing University Boulevard and the on-ramps
for the bridge and extending Labelle Avenue, the access road for the Steubenville Marina, to the
area where the new turn lanes will begin.
The latter move addresses the current hazard of vehicles, particularly large trucks, being
stopped on the railroad tracks as they wait to re-enter Route 7.
The estimated cost is $10 million, with the city of Steubenville contributing about 2 percent of
the cost.
Roxanne Kane, ODOTás liaison to BHJ, said Wednesday bids for the project will be opened
Oct. 22, with hopes of naming a contractor in November. ODOT officials hope to begin the
project next spring.
Kane also reported on current road projects, including a section of state Route 213 that has
been closed while crews with the Alan Stone Corp. installed piling walls to address a slide. She
said the road, which was closed about two months ago, is expected to be reopened later this
week.
The commission also heard from B.J. Smith, a representative of AT&T Ohio, who discussed
the companyás It Can Wait Campaign, which is aimed at reducing texting and use of social
media while driving.

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She noted a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institution found people are 23 times
more likely to be in an auto accident while texting and driving and encouraged members to
spread the word to their family and friends.
Smith said a free drive mode app is available through AT&T that silences message alerts and
sends an auto-reply.
She also presented a short video, âThe Last Text,ã in which a Missouri state trooper and
several teens comment on fatal accidents in which the driver was texting. Comments also are
shared by a teen who struck and killed a bicyclist while distracted by a text message and another
who suffered injury to his brain as a result of his text-related accident.
Smith said the video can be found on YouTube and Paprocki said it also will be posted on
BHJás website at www.bhjmpc.org.
Steubenville Mayor Domenick Mucci presented a proclamation to Smith declaring the day It
Can Wait Pledge Day, alluding to a pledge found at the campaignás website at
www.itcanwait.com.