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United Bridge Partners is based in Colorado, but company officials envision the proposed $50 million rehabilitation of the Memorial Bridge as a very local project.
“We’re pretty happy about the economic boom this is going to create for the area, especially coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ryan Dolan, vice president of business development for UBP, during a presentation Thursday before Parkersburg City Council.
The company has submitted a bid to purchase the bridge for $4 million and rehabilitate it to extend its useful life by a minimum of 50 years. The deal is pending the approval of council and the West Virginia Public Service Commission.
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PARKERSBURG Details about a proposal to purchase and rehabilitate the Memorial Bridge were made public over the last week, but the effort by United Bridge Partners has been underway for several years.
“We just found that it was a bridge in need with, potentially, a lack of funding,” said Ryan Dolan, vice president of business development for Colorado-based UBP, after Thursday’s presentation to Parkersburg City Council.
While the bridge is in “fair” condition a 5 out of 9 by Federal Highway Administration National Bridge Inspection Standards the city only has a fraction of the funds the company is prepared to bring to bear on the estimated $50 million rehabilitation project.
ebevins@newsandsentinel.com Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce, center, speaks with United Bridge Partners President and CEO Doug Witt, left, and Vice President of Business Development Ryan Dolan after a meeting of Parkersburg City Council’s Committee of the Whole on Thursday at the Municipal Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins) United Bridge Partners Vice President of Construction and Operations Ken Szeliga, left, and Vice President of Business Development Ryan Dolan listen to a question from a Parkersburg City Council member during a meeting of the Committee of the Whole on Thursday at the Municipal Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins) United Bridge Partners President and CEO Doug Witt speaks during a presentation about the company’s bid to purchase and rehabilitate the Memorial Bridge during a meeting of Parkersburg City Council’s Committee of the Whole on Thursday at the Municipal Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
ebevins@newsandsentinel.com
United Bridge Partners has submitted a bid and proposal to purchase and rehabilitate the Memorial Bridge from the City of Parkersburg. (File Photo)
PARKERSBURG The Memorial Bridge would undergo a nearly two-year rehabilitation project before tolls increase and switch to completely electronic collection under a proposal before Parkersburg City Council.
Colorado-based United Bridge Partners would pay $4 million, take over responsibility for its operations and embark on an approximately 21-month effort to deliver “a fully-rehabilitated bridge … that will be open and operational for a minimum 50-year service life,” according to bid documents.
Council will meet as the Committee of the Whole at 7 p.m. today at the Municipal Building to hear a presentation on the bid. The proposal would have to be approved on two readings by council, likely at its regular meetings in May, before it could be authorized.
ebevins@newsandsentinel.com An SUV stops to pay the toll at the Memorial Bridge in Parkersburg on Friday. (Photo by Evan Bevins) Vehicles travel on the West Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge on Friday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
An SUV stops to pay the toll at the Memorial Bridge in Parkersburg on Friday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
PARKERSBURG The city of Parkersburg stands to gain more than $14 million by selling the Memorial Bridge to a private company.
A press release from Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce on Friday afternoon identified Colorado-based United Bridge Partners as the bidder to purchase the toll bridge, which opened in 1955 and connects West Virginia 2 to Ohio 7.