PARKERSBURG, WV | The Parkersburg Memorial Bridge is a steel warren through truss bridge that crosses the Ohio River between Parkersburg, WV and Belpre, OH. Opened in 1955, it has a total length of 2,556 feet and a main span length of 1,400 feet. After years of heavy use, the City of Parkersburg sought options to rehabilitate the bridge, since replacing it would be too costly. An engineering team, led by United Bridge Partners (UBP), proposed and was ultimately selected by the city to purchase, rehabilitate, and operate the bridge.
UBP is purchasing the bridge from the City of Parkersburg, rehabilitating it, and will take over toll collection for at least the next 50 years. Modjeski and Masters (M&M) is serving as the Engineer-of-Record (EOR) for the UBP team. Throughout the pursuit phase of this project, M&M worked closely with the project contractor, Kokosing Construction Company (KCC) to develop a conceptual repair plan set and estimated cost of rehabilitation, as well as additional anticipated life cycle costs. Currently in the final design phase as a CMGC project, M&M is progressing through the rehabilitation development, with key review points occurring with KCC and the independent cost estimator at the 60%, 90% and RFC stages. The rehabilitation includes full deck replacement, structural steel repairs and concrete substructure repairs. It also includes new decorative, navigational, and roadway lighting, as well as safety and hand ropes throughout the top chords to assist future bridge inspectors.
In addition, the balance of the team includes other consultants that are working together to address permitting, ROW transfers, asbestos inspections, RR coordination, etc. During construction, M&M will be providing design assistance and oversight, assisting the resident engineer as necessary, as well as coatings inspections to ensure long term durability.
UBP expects the rehabilitation to be complete and fully open to traffic in 2023. For more information on this project, please visit: https://parkersburgbridgepartners.com/
About Modjeski and Masters
Modjeski and Masters is one of the world’s leading bridge engineering firms, with a reputation for technical excellence and innovation that goes beyond current standards. Established more than 125 years ago, the firm is responsible for the design and maintenance of some of our nation’s most recognizable structures. Services include fixed and movable bridge design, inspection and rehabilitation, and all facets of life-cycle maintenance, research and code development. For more information, including in-depth videos of Modjeski and Masters at work, please visit www.modjeski.com.