T-L Photo/JOSIE BURKHART The Ohio Department of Transportation begins the Purple Rider Stadium pedestrian bridge project that will replace the bridge and stairway to the football stadium, causing traffic impacts on Ohio 7.

MARTINS FERRY — Construction to replace the pedestrian bridge over Ohio 7 to Martins Ferry’s football field is underway.

Ohio Department of Transportation District 11 Public Information Officer Lauren Borell construction for the project has begun. The end result will be a full replacement of the bridge and stairway.

The completion date for the project is expected to be Oct. 31.

Borrell added that throughout the project, the bridge will be closed to pedestrian traffic and there will be one traffic lane maintained in each direction on Ohio 7 with a 10-foot width restriction.

Additionally, there will be turning restrictions that will occur at the Ohio 7 and North Fifth Street intersection. Traffic will only be able to turn right onto North Fifth Street from Ohio 7 southbound and turn right out of North Fifth Street onto Ohio 7 southbound.

Borell said the bridge has reached its lifespan and is ready to be replaced.

The pedestrian bridge is monitored on the same timeframe as other bridges that carry vehicular traffic.

Borell added that this project is maintaining ODOT’s system and will provide a safe passage for pedestrians, especially for Martins Ferry football fans. The new bridge will include new vandal fencing to accommodate and protect pedestrian traffic as people walk above the highway.

The bridge will be similar to what it was before but up to modern standards, Borrell said, but as far as aesthetics go, it will remain the same.

Contractors take advantage of available daylight when constructing projects, she said, so crews will be working anywhere from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

That timeframe will change as weeks go on and sunrise and sunset times change.

The contractors already got a jump start on the demolition, Borell said, and have started on the portion of the bridge that is on the western side of the project, which doesn’t affect traffic on Ohio 7.

In the next couple of weeks, workers will start on the lanes along Ohio 7, preparing those to accommodate the crossover pattern that will be in place, and then get right to demolition once that traffic maintenance is installed.

The bridge construction will impact how pedestrians get to the Dave Bruney Football Complex, home of the Purple Riders.

“I am happy that the pedestrian bridge is being restored,” Martins Ferry City Schools Superintendent Jim Fogle said. “With that said, the timing of construction will inconvenience a lot of fans on football Friday nights. We are very limited in parking at and around the stadium. A lot of Rider Nation utilizes the (East Ohio Regional) hospital lot to park and walk across the bridge to the stadium. We are planning to run a shuttle bus to and from the stadium on game nights.”