FUNDING DISCUSSED — The Brooke County Commission received an update Tuesday from the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission on funding for a replacement for the Market Street Bridge and efforts to rehabilitate unused industrial property. -- Warren Scott

WELLSBURG — The director of the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission commented on funding awarded for a replacement for the Market Street Bridge and rehabilitation of unused industrial sites at Tuesday’s Brooke County Commission meeting.

BHJ Executive Director Mike Paprocki expressed optimism about the proposed replacement of the Market Street Bridge, noting the Federal Highway Administration has awarded $87.5 million for the project.

The funds will come from the federal agency’s Large Bridge Investment Program, for which all 50 states were invited to submit projects.

Paprocki noted the West Virginia Department of Transportation has committed $52.5 million from its usual allocation of federal transportation funds toward the new bridge.

HDR Engineering of Weirton has been selected to perform preliminary studies for the span.

To comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, the consultant selected by WVDOT is expected to evaluate the span’s impact on the surrounding environment, including not only wildlife but also existing and projected traffic patterns and the local economy.

Under guidelines set for the Bridge Investment Program, federal funds awarded for the new bridge must be formally allocated by Sept. 30, 2027, and expended by Sept. 30, 2032, though construction isn’t likely to be completed until later.

Building the span at the present location or at Washington Street has been discussed at the local level, but no formal decision has been made.

Paprocki said he hopes to know more about the project’s development in June.

A.J. Thomas, the county commission’s president, acknowledged BHJ for pushing for it soon after the Market Street Bridge was closed by state officials, who cited severe deterioration of its support cables.

Paprocki also advised the planning commission plans to use $1.2 million awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine and plan environmental cleanups needed for multiple sites in Brooke and Hancock counties.

He said sites targeted for the grant include former Weirton Steel property along Main Street in Weirton, property at the Half Moon Industrial Park near Freedom Way and land once occupied by a major power plant south of Beech Bottom and a community known as Power.

Paprocki said no local match is required for the four-year grant, which was one of 30 awarded to USEPA Region 3, which includes five states and the District of Columbia.

He said the grant was obtained through a collaboration with the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle, an economic development agency charged with marketing Brooke and Hancock counties to new businesses.

Paprocki noted partnerships with it and others have led to BHJ securing $1.3 billion for environmental assessments and cleanups, including the Form Energy site at Frontier Crossing in Weirton and vacant property once occupied by Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel in Beech Bottom.

In other business, the commission agreed to seek new members for an advisory council for the county’s emergency 911 center.

Thomas said under state statue, the board must include the center’s director, as a non-voting member; a representative from the commission, firefighter, law enforcement officer, emergency medical personnel member and emergency service provider from the system served by the center.

He said the council’s initial members will serve staggered terms of one, two or three years but their successors will each serve three years.

Letters of interest should be sent to the office of County Clerk Kimberly Barbetta at the county courthouse by June 30.

The volunteer board is being reformed since Franklin Community Fire Chief Gerald McClain noted it has been inactive for some time.

In related business, the commission signed a proclamation for National Emergency Medical Services Week expressing appreciation to the county’s EMS personnel for their hard work.

Barbetta noted the courthouse and other county facilities will be closed on Monday in observance of Memorial Day.

The commission’s next regular meeting will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the courthouse.