Photo by Eric Ayres Crews from Charles J. Merlo Inc. were working to remove bridge decking from the Washington Avenue Bridge on Wednesday when it suddenly collapsed into Wheeling Creek. Three workers were injured.

WHEELING — Three workers from a demolition crew were injured Wednesday afternoon when the Washington Avenue Bridge collapsed into Wheeling Creek while they were working to dismantle the bridge deck.

WVDOT officials indicated that they were working with the contractor to determine exactly what happened to cause the catastrophic failure of the span while it was in the process of being dismantled. The collapse occurred at around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday.

“The contractor was taking apart the deck, and it collapsed while they were demoing it,” said Brian Kucish, West Virginia Division of Highways District 6 Engineer, noting that information about the incident was still being gathered on Wednesday.

Kucish said one of the workers reportedly had a broken leg, but no life-threatening injuries were reported.

An excavator and a large dump truck were being used for the removal of concrete decking in the middle of the bridge when it collapsed straight down into Wheeling Creek. The heavy equipment remained upright on top of the fallen bridge deck at the bottom of the creek after the collapse, as if everything on the bridge simply fell in a directly vertical drop.

The collapse caused the grid of steel deck supports to pivot on its eastern pillar, causing the east side of the bridge deck’s steel girders to catapult into the air.

The bridge had been closed to pedestrian and vehicular traffic since December and was under contract by the West Virginia Department of Transportation to be completely replaced over the course of the next year. Demolition work reportedly began just this week.

Law enforcement officials closed off Washington Avenue on both sides of the scene Wednesday, but onlookers in the neighborhood gathered around the taped-off area in disbelief.

Alecia Blair, who lives just a block away from the bridge, and other nearby residents noted that the impact shook the entire neighborhood. Stunned people in a small crowd that had gathered downstream from the scene indicated that they were going about their daily business and initially had no idea what happened when their homes suddenly shook violently from an inexplicable thud.

“There was a very loud boom,” Blair said. “It didn’t sound quite like an explosion, but it sounded like something collapsed or something was hit. You could feel it. It shook everything – the windows, the house … everything. I was really surprised by it, and then I heard all of the sirens.”

The WVDOT awarded a $5,342,000 contract to Charles J. Merlo Inc. of Mineral Point, Pa., for the bridge replacement work, which was scheduled to take place between December of last year and October of this year.

Emergency responders helped carry the injured workers from the fallen bridge deck out of the creek bed and to the hospital for treatment.

“One person had a serious injury, and the other two injuries were non-life threatening,” said Philip Stahl, spokesman for the Wheeling Fire Department. “All were conscious and are expected to be OK.”

Stahl said one man was inside the excavator and two other workers were on the bridge deck when the span collapsed.

“They were all working on the demolition crew, dismantling the bridge deck,” Stahl said. “Something occurred, and the bridge collapsed and fell into the creek below.”

Emergency crews from the Wheeling Fire Department led the heavy fire and rescue response, which also included the Wheeling Police Department, Ohio County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio County Emergency Management Agency, West Virginia Division of Highways and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

Those on the scene noted a smell of diesel fuel downstream from the bridge collapse, and officials indicated that some leakage of fuel from the heavy equipment may have occurred because of the impact.

Later in the afternoon, the area was turned back over to the WVDOT and the contractor, according to Stahl, who said emergency responders cleared the scene at around 3 p.m. Wednesday.

A fire had occurred at the bridge on Monday evening shortly after work began on the demolition. However, officials have indicated that the fire was not believed to be a contributing issue related to the collapse.

Officials said crews had used torches to cut steel railings from the sidewalks on the bridge on Monday, and sparks from this work were believed to have subsequently ignited some brush under the bridge after workers left for the evening.

Residents had already braced for the closure of the bridge because of the planned replacement. The span is along a major traffic artery in the east end of the city that connects National Road to Interstate 70 at the intersection of Mount de Chantal Road. Closure of the bridge cuts off quick access from this section of National Road to WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital.

The Washington Avenue Bridge had received poor ratings during inspections in recent years which ultimately led to its load limit being reduced to 5 tons. School buses, fire truck and other large vehicles have not been permitted to cross the bridge for a number of years, and it’s planned replacement has been in the works for some time.

Built in 1947, the Washington Avenue Bridge was a floating-cantilever style span. Officials have said that although the bridge remained structurally sound and able to handle vehicular traffic with the 5 ton weight limit before the closure and demolition work began, they noted that the floating-cantilever design is generally not a favorable one by today’s industry standards.

The new, more modern bridge that is slated to be installed there will be a concrete span that will be able to handle heavier vehicles.