West Virginia Department of Transportation 2007 aerial photo.
Increasing the unity of the Mid-Ohio Valley was the central focus during the Blennerhassett Island Bridge opening ceremony Friday.
The opening of the 4,009-foot bridge, which spans the Ohio River over Blennerhassett Island, marks the final piece of Corridor D connecting Wood and Washington counties.
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(Is that me, or is that Ken Brady our art teacher?)
Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio and Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., did not attend the ceremony, but other dignitaries and officials met on the bridge to dedicate the structure and open it to vehicles Friday evening.
“This (bridge) is 43 years in coming and it’s nice to see it has come to fruition,” said Tom Smith, West Virginia administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.
The $135 million bridge was originally going to be a suspension bridge when it was conceived as part of the Appalachian Development Highway System by the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965.
The highway system was built as a joint venture of the West Virginia Division of Highways and the Ohio Department of Transportation and covers more than 200 miles between Cincinnati and Clarksburg.
“The bridge is one of the best examples of public and private groups working together,” Smith said.
Manchin said the bridge, which was built with the cooperation of local governments, is “first class.”
“It’s not always in a governor’s time in office. . . to have something of this magnitude,” Manchin said. “It’s unbelievable.”
Anne Pope, a chairman of the Appalachian Regional Commission, ARC, said the bridge is not just another connection between Ohio and West Virginia, but the entire eastern seaboard.
“Connections created by the ARC will make Appalachia more accessible and open to the entire world,” Pope said.
Pope continued by discussing future economic development as a benefit from the corridor.
“Every $1 spent on the highway system brings back $3 in economic development – jobs,” she said.
Rep. Alan B. Mollohan, D-W.Va., read a letter from Byrd who was instrumental to the bridge’s construction, which began in 2005.
“I am a true believer in the Appalachian corridor highway network and the promise that it holds for West Virginia,” Mollohan read.
Byrd, in his capacity as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has appropriated $185 million for the construction of the Corridor D highway alone, Mollohan said.
“The bridge shows what sort of success is possible if the mission is worthy,” Mollohan said.
Following the ceremony, Belpre Mayor Mike Lorentz met with Williamstown Mayor Jean Ford and Parkersburg Mayor Bob Newell to exchange a Fenton Art Glass Bridge Day Bell and a Lee Middleton Doll.
This exchange signified the “bridging of the gap” created by the Ohio River between the cities.
By JOLENE CRAIG
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