NPR reports that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy “has made clear that he doesn’t want to spend federal dollars” on what he calls “DEI bike lanes.” Yet along the Ohio River, Republican and Democratic officials are backing a replacement for the closed Market Street Bridge that would include a dedicated bike and pedestrian trail, closing a key gap in the Great American Rail‑Trail.
A failing span, and a costly fix
The Market Street Bridge connects downtown Steubenville, Ohio, to Weirton, W.Va., across nearly 1,800 feet of river. West Virginia officials shut it in late 2023 after cables anchoring its piers failed, according to regional planner Michael Paprocki. He told NPR the structure is “beyond repair,” pointing to holes in rusted beams and warning, “if it stood long enough, it would probably collapse under its own weight.” Paprocki said the bridge used to carry about 40,000 cars a year.
NPR reports there’s a plan to replace the span a few blocks away with a bridge that includes dedicated space for people on bikes and on foot. Congress has appropriated $87 million so far—only a fraction of the final price.
Local stakes: economy, access, and morale
Steubenville’s Republican mayor, Ralph Petrella, called the project “huge,” telling NPR the bridge and trail are “a national entity that would help our economic development and continue the momentum we have for revitalization.”
Weirton’s Democratic mayor, Dean Harris, who worked 48 years at the local steel mill before it closed in 2024, said the city is “rebranding” to attract new employers. Harris told NPR that Weirton’s existing rail‑trail, which reaches Pittsburgh’s suburbs about 30 miles away, helped the city land a battery factory that opened several years ago.
Residents say the closure hit daily life. Maura Barnes, who opened the Steubenville Grocery Box with her husband and friends, told NPR the loss felt “almost spiritual” and that nearby businesses saw “a pretty notable decrease in foot traffic and car traffic.” NPR reports the Veterans Memorial Bridge, less than two miles away, carries highway traffic, but the Market Street Bridge had been the only safe crossing for people walking or biking—and the only bridge depositing cars directly into downtown.
The trail gap—and the timeline fight
Eric Oberg of the Rails‑to‑Trails Conservancy told NPR that more than half of the proposed 3,700‑mile Great American Rail‑Trail is already in place, but major gaps remain, including the Ohio River crossing. “The challenge of crossing a body of water as big as the Ohio River is monumental,” he said. Oberg said the group convened local leaders in September to press state and federal lawmakers for more funding and to focus attention on the ongoing surface transportation reauthorization bill. He called the bridge “inevitable” due to support, while acknowledging the “headwinds” created by the administration’s stance on bicycle infrastructure; he said the key question is the timeline.
Bipartisan backing in a conservative region
Paprocki, now executive director of the Brooke Hancock Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission, told NPR there is broad support across the political spectrum. “It’s not just liberals that ride bikes,” he said. “Ohio is an extremely conservative state … West Virginia is an extremely red state. And believe me, they love to go out and ride their bikes.”
