Some drivers in Putnam and Kanawha counties were surprised Thursday to find the maximum weights reduced on two local bridges. This week, state highway officials lowered the maximum allowable weights on the Nitro-St. Albans bridge and the Winfield bridge that carries W.Va. 34 across the Kanawha River.
"If commercial traffic can't use that bridge [at Winfield] it's a hardship for them," said Putnam County Administrator Brian Donat. "They have to go down to Buffalo or head to Nitro and use the Interstate 64 bridge."
Nitro Mayor Rusty Casto and St. Albans Mayor Dick Callaway said they did not find out until Thursday that the maximum weight allowed on the Nitro-St. Albans had been reduced from 14 to 12 tons. Many travelers are already leery of crossing the old bridge, Callaway said, and stricter weight limits on the span can't help business in either town.
"There's a need for something to be done there," Callaway said. Both Callaway and Casto have been pushing to have a new bridge built between the two cities sooner rather than later. State officials have told the mayors the bridge won't be replaced until at least 2013.
"What's going to be $75 million today might be $100 million two years from now," Callaway said. "Now is the time to get it started," agreed Casto. "This furthers my case for a new bridge immediately."
But state Division of Highways spokesman Brent Walker said changing the weight limits on the bridges is more technical than actual. He said the Nitro-St. Albans bridge can still safely carry 14 tons. "The change has nothing to do with safety or deterioration of the bridges," Walker said.
In 2004 and 2005, state lawmakers increased the maximum weight allowed on the state's roads from 73,000 pounds to 80,000 pounds, Walker said. But the limits carried a built-in 10 percent cushion, so that a vehicle weighing as much as 88,000 pounds could safely - though illegally - still travel on the state's highways.
The same 10 percent variance in weight also applied to the state's bridges. But to be safe, Walker said, state officials decided to lower the allowable weights on bridges by 10 percent.
"If it's posted at 14 tons, we're not going to allow you 16," Walker said. "On the roads, we give [10 percent], on bridges we take."
Walker said the weight limit was reduced to 12 tons on the Nitro-St. Albans bridge to comply with the Legislature's mandate. But he said the bridge can still safely handle a vehicle weighing 14 tons. "We err on the side of safety on the bridges," he said.
Walker said there are a lot of old bridges in West Virginia. He didn't know if there was enough money to replace any of them earlier than planned.
Callaway knows the state doesn't have a lot of money for bridges. He believes federal funding may be the source for a new St. Albans-Nitro bridge.
