(Photo by Evan Bevins) Vehicles make their way into Parkersburg from the Juliana Street Bridge as lights are replaced in a closed lane Tuesday.

PARKERSBURG — The ramps going onto and off of a bridge in downtown Parkersburg are about to be replaced in a multi-year, multi-million-dollar project.

The Juliana Street Bridge ramps going into and out of Parkersburg on Juliana and Ann streets are set to be replaced over the next two years, said Joshua Smith, construction engineer for the West Virginia Division of Highways District 3.

“We’re taking out everything that has concrete girders,” he said.

The ramps will be replaced in two phases, starting with the one coming into Parkersburg, closest to the Wood County Courthouse, Smith said. The entire ramp structure will be demolished except for one or two concrete piers.

“They’ll have everything coordinated to where you’ll still have your two-way traffic” on the remaining ramp, Smith said.

(Photo by Evan Bevins) Concrete piers supporting the ramps to and from the Juliana Street Bridge in downtown Parkersburg will be replaced as part of a $17.5 million project set to get underway this year. The West Virginia Division of Highways says that in spite of wear like this, the ramps remain safe to use.

The $17,565,000 contract was awarded to Triton Construction, Smith said. Its scheduled completion date is Aug. 28, 2028.

It should take about a year to demolish the existing ramp and build the new one, Smith said. Once the new ramp is completed, the ramp leading out of Parkersburg will be demolished while traffic is maintained in both directions on the new one.

The concrete girders underneath the ramps will be replaced with steel ones, like the bridge itself has, Smith said. The concrete piers will be rebuilt.

At least one of the piers has some crumbling on the edge but Smith said the ramps remain safe for traffic.

“It still rates fine,” he said.Work has been going on for a while to move utilities that ran under the ramp to a trench on Second Street, Smith said. The natural gas contractor removed their traffic control equipment this week, so Division of Highways personnel moved in to place their own, with the demolition approaching.

(Photo by Evan Bevins) Work to relocate utility lines has been going on beneath the ramps to and from the Juliana Street Bridge in downtown Parkersburg in preparation for the ramps’ replacement.

Some utility work was continuing this week.

Parkersburg Police Chief Matthew Board said his department is aware of the project and will do its best to minimize the impact on traffic.

“As that approaches, we will work with downtown businesses and … Division of Highways to mitigate any undue stress downtown and facilitate the flow of traffic to the best of our ability,” he said.

(Photo by Evan Bevins) Concrete girders like these beneath the ramps to and from the Juliana Street Bridge will be replaced with steel as part of a $17.5 million project set to get underway this year.