Earl M. Vickers Memorial Bridge rehab is finally complete
By Autumn Shelton, RealWV
MONTGOMERY, W.Va. – After nearly four years of rehabilitation work, the Earl M. Vickers Memorial Bridge, spanning the Kanawha River and joining the city of Montgomery with the city of Smithers, is finally complete.
During a ribbon cutting and rededication ceremony on Friday, Montgomery Mayor Greg Ingram and Smithers Mayor D. Anne Cavalier joined with state and local leaders, as well as Earl’s son, Beach, to make the official announcement.
“We’re just a small, proud community nestled here in the foothills of Allegheny Mountains,” Ingram said. “And we’re 30 miles from Charleston and about 30 miles from the National Park, so it’s a good place to live, and it’s beautiful.”
Ingram explained that restoration costs were approximately $20 million.
“That’s a lot of money to invest in small communities,” Ingram said, adding that these investments are important to showcase the importance of West Virginia “homegrown values.”
Cavalier added that Earl M. Vickers, who spent roughly 30 years in public service as both a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and director of Legislative Services, was a prominent figure in this part of the Upper Kanawha Valley.
“He was director of Legislative Services when the Legislature decided to put me in charge of a project with no money,” Cavalier said. “He came to my rescue for over three years, and for that I developed a great deal of respect and affection for him. And, I’m so glad to see this day for him in his memory.”
Michael DeMers, West Virginia’s deputy secretary of transportation, said that many current employees of the Division of Highways attended WVU Tech, while it was still housed in Montgomery, and traveled over the bridge many times.
“So, in many ways, this rededication is a homecoming for the Department of Transportation and the Division of Highways,” DeMers said, adding that there will be more bridge rededications like this one in the coming years.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey, who was in attendance, said that although the areas of Montgomery and Smithers have faced economic challenges, they are in a great location with a promising future.
“I think the bridge looks really terrific,” Morrisey said. “Today, we’re celebrating not just the completion of a project, but a continued commitment to invest in the small, rural towns in our state. We’ve been working on that across the board.”
“I’m excited about the future of our state, and we’ll keep doing it one bridge at a time,” Morrisey concluded.
