Ices Ferry Bridge awaits bid for repairs

Bidding for repairs on the historic Ices Ferry Bridge in Cheat Lake has been pushed back for four months due to funding problems.

The bridge was deemed structurally deficient in June 2009 in an investigation, and bidding for the repairs was set to begin in February but has been pushed back due to funding problems.

Structurally deficient does not mean the bridge is unsafe, said Brent Walker, assistant director of communication for the West Virginia Department of Transportation.

"It just means that things need repaired. When people look at a structurally deficient rating, they assume it's unsafe, and it's not," Walker said. "The existing bridge just got to the point where we need to replace it," Walker said.

Some students and residents disagree with Walker.

"During the wintertime or in hard rain, I do feel it is unsafe," said Dan Simpson, a senior mathematics major. "I drive a rear-wheel drive car, and it has spun out before on that bridge."

There is still debate over what to do with the existing bridge. The Ices Ferry Bridge is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

This has caused some fuss over the idea of complete demolition of the bridge, Walker said. The options are: keep the old bridge, completely tear it down or keep some of the pieces and build a fishing pier out of them.

"The old bridge has been for sale for a dollar for anyone who wanted to take it," Walker said. "However, the time has come and gone for the sale of the bridge, so it more than likely will be torn down to make way for the new bridge."

The design for the new bridge is already put together and will be up for bidding to prospective contracting companies from Aug. 24 to Sept. 8.

"We are a low bidding state," Walker said. "If they are an approved contractor, we choose the lowest bid."

Once the lowest bid is determined, exact plans for construction will be worked out.

While an official date for construction has not been set, Walker said it could begin as early as next year.

The Independent Bridge Company of Pittsburgh, built the Ices Ferry Bridge in 1922. Jones and Laughlin milled the steel. The fourth span of the bridge was added when Cheat Lake was built in 1925.