MERCER COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A project to renovate the eastbound and westbound spans of the Oakvale Bridge in Mercer County is among 11 construction projects included in a bid letting conducted by the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) on Tuesday, December 9, 2025.
The pair of bridges carries US 460 over Fivemile Creek in Mercer County. The bridges, built in 1972, each carry about 10,400 vehicles a day.
“This project involves rehabilitating both the eastbound and westbound structure and consists of replacing the concrete bridge decks, converting each abutment to a semi-integral configuration that will eliminate the need for expansion joints at the ends of the bridges, repairing areas of deterioration on the concrete abutments and piers, spot painting areas of localized paint failure on the steel girders, and adding a concrete protective coating to concrete surfaces,” said Tracy Brown, P.E., WVDOH State Bridge Engineer.
“This work will help to increase the expected service life for this structure so that the initial taxpayer investment from when the bridge was originally constructed can be maximized,” Brown said.
Projects on the December 9 bid letting include:
- Cookman Fork culvert repair, Interstate 79. (Roane County)
- Hawks Nest Trail trestle improvement. (Fayette County)
- 17th Street Bridge superstructure replacement, pavement repair, and guardrails. (Wood County)
- GM Access Road Bridge deck overlay. (Berkeley County)
- WV 152 slide repair, milepost 12.9. (Lincoln County)
- Cherry Street slide repair. (Lincoln County)
- Sunnyside Drive slide repair. (Wayne County)
- WV 161 micropile slide repair, resurfacing, and guardrails. (McDowell County)
- Bull Creek Road piling wall slide repair, (Pleasants County)
- Sand Creek Road slide repair. (Lincoln County)
- Oakvale Bridge rehabilitation. (Mercer County)
Several factors are considered before awarding a bid, including whether a bid falls above or below the WVDOH Engineer’s Estimate and by what percentage. In cases where a bid is above the Engineer’s Estimate, WVDOH must consider the project need, repercussions of not awarding the project, additional funding sources, and whether sufficient reasons exist for the differences in estimates. Most projects are reviewed, analyzed, and awarded within a week of the bid letting, but the process can take longer.
When the Division of Highways has a project that is determined to be best constructed by a contractor, it is processed through the bid letting system. A letting is a scheduled opportunity for contractors to review and bid on several construction projects at one time. Lettings are held either once or twice per month and conducted through the Bid Express System online at www.bidx.comand handled through the Contract Administration Division. Contractors need to subscribe to Bid Express before bids can be accepted on any project.
