May 25—Work on the Grant Street Bridge is at a standstill, delaying completion until late this year.

Kerry Stauffer, Bluefield's engineer, said the delay was caused when engineers found an issue with adequate underground support for the bridge's center pier.

"Unfortunately, the original plan (after the problem surfaced) for the center pier was to drill a casing and then drive piles, but Norfolk Southern consultants did not approve that," he said, explaining that the bedrock was "too soft" to provide enough support for the pilings and that is why the casings were added to the plan.

The consultant only permitted the drive-in piles, not the casings.

Stauffer said the state Department of Highway (DOH) is overseeing the bridge construction and works with the EL Robinson engineering firm, which came up with a plan to install a temporary casing that would be filled with concrete to provide adequate support for the pilings.

Once the pilings are installed, the casings would be removed.

But that plan has not yet been approved by the railroad's consultant.

However, response times related to submitted plans have been "frustrating," he said, as everyone involved awaits the approval.

Brayman Construction is doing the work, Stauffer said they are frustrated as well.

The center pier is a "critical path to the construction of the bridge," he said, and the approval is the holdup.

In the meantime, work could not continue and Brayman crews were sent to other jobs while this issue is being worked out.

City Manager Cecil Marson said the city recently met with Jimmy Wriston, state Transportation Secretary.

"We talked about getting this thing rolling," Marson said, and the DOH is waiting on that approval.

"They have done everything they can try to do to appease the Norfolk Southern consultant," Stauffer said.

Once that approval comes down, work can restart "immediately," he added.

"I am estimating we are about two months behind ... moving the completion date to November or by the end of the year," he said. "Everybody is very frustrated."

The bridge, erected in 1941 to connect the North Side with Princeton Avenue and Downtown Bluefield, was closed in June 2019 after failing a state safety inspection.

After a lengthy quest to find funding to either replace the old bridge or repair it, Gov. Jim Justice in October 2020 announced that a total of $10 million was made available to replace the bridge.

Work started last year and was initially slated to be finished by the end of 2021.

But delays changed the projected completion date to September of this year, which has now been moved to November.

Willie Perry, a resident who lives near the bridge and who has been waiting for a much easier and safer access to the city, thanked Stauffer for the explanation after he had asked city board members why no work had taken place for two weeks.

Perry said it's good that the public knows what is going on with the bridge.

Residents have not had access to that link to the city in almost three years, having to rely on a narrow, winding, hazardous road instead.

Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com

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