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STEUBENVILLE -- The Jefferson County Port Authority's board of directors on Wednesday voted to have the agency's executive director draft a letter of support for a program that would help finance a replacement for the Market Street Bridge.
Executive Director Robert Naylor had recommended the board go above and beyond template letters, instead providing a "strongly-worded" letter of support for the bridge replacement opportunity, being led by the West Virginia Department of Transportation's Division of Highways.
The port authority's letter would add the agency to a growing list of Ohio Valley organizations and municipalities submitting their location-specific letters of support.
Naylor said the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bridge Investment Program, made available under bipartisan infrastructure legislation, would provide federal grant funds for projects costing more than $100 million. Projects in all 50 states are eligible to apply, receiving as much as 50 percent funding.
The WVDOH has three projects, Naylor said, including the 118-year-old Market Street Bridge and two other bridges in Charleston, which are being combined into one project.
Naylor said that, if the Market Street Bridge is selected for the program, the hope is to have 30 percent of the new bridge's design-build complete done by March 28. At that pace, Naylor said, the new bridge would be set for completion in only two years -- a massive feat considering the time needed to build the Veterans Memorial Bridge and the recently opened bridge between Wellsburg and Brilliant.
Having a functioning bridge in place of the Market Street Bridge -- which is nearing the end of its life, according to studies -- is critical for traffic relief in the event of closures on the 33-year-old Veterans bridge, Naylor said. The Bridge Investment Program allows for a replacement of the Market Street Bridge at its exact location, Naylor said, according to correspondence with the WVDOH's grant consultant.
Naylor said he would begin drafting the letter on Wednesday night and send it to the board members for review.
Separately, Naylor informed board members of a request by the construction material company Brixx Technology for the port authority, as a public entity, to be an applicant with the company for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's Market Development Grant Application 2024.
Brixx purchased Richmond Mills, which had been contracted to landfill fly ash from the ow-closed W.H. Sammis Power Plant in Stratton. Having purchased property near the plant, Naylor said, Brixx is asking for the grant so it can be reimbursed for the purchase of equipment to turn fly ash into safety-tested construction bricks.
Under the grant, which last year went unspent, Brixx would purchase three pieces of equipment for a total of $400,000, submit purchase records and other documentation to the Ohio EPA and receive reimbursement for approximately half the equipment's cost.
The draw for the port authority, Naylor said, is Brixx's desire to crate nine jobs, paying between $22 and $23 an hour. In addition, Naylor said the opportunity would provide a use for previously landfilled fly ash.
Brixx will need to have its documentation submitted by Dec. 8, Naylor said, a target which he thinks is achievable due to the size of the application. The port authority's board approved Naylor to continue learning about the grant, provided that the port authority does not incur financial responsibility for the grant.
In other business:
• The board approved a $19,686.22 invoice for Civil and Environmental Consultants Inc. for services rendered for the Ohio Department of Development Brownfield Remediation Grant Program, in addition to approving submission of the invoice to the ODOD for reimbursement.
CEC's services, Naylor said, are for the port authority's six different properties with six different grants under the ODOD's brownfield program.
• Naylor said a request for qualifications for a spec will be sent out by next week, following a miscommunication. The RFQ will be advertised in the Herald-Star and the port authority's website, and it will be sent to various local architects and engineering firms.
• Board member Brenan Pergi said that the state will be making available a one-time strategic community investment fund made up of $1 billion in formerly earmarked funds. Running parallel with the state's normal capital budget and functioning similarly, the fund is accepting applications and is worth looking into, Pergi said.
• This was the first port authority board meeting of David D'Anniballe of D'Anniballe & Co. CPA, who was appointed to the board by the city of Steubenville.