On the afternoon of January 7th, around 1:45 pm, the Washington Avenue Bridge in Wheeling, West Virginia, which was under demolition, collapsed, causing three workers who were on the bridge to fall into Wheeling Creek and sustain injuries.
The West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) posted on Facebook on January 7th that around 2:00 pm, a section of the Washington Avenue Bridge collapsed. The bridge is owned by the Wheeling city government and was in the process of being dismantled, hence the road was closed. At the time of the accident, a backhoe and a dump truck were on the bridge surface removing the panels, but the upper structure of the bridge suddenly collapsed, causing that section of the bridge to fall into the water below. The project was being managed by the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH), with the contractor being Merlo, Inc.
The post received nearly 600 comments within a day. Trenton Clutter commented, “The known weight limit of this bridge is 5 tons. Just the backhoe alone weighs 25 tons, and the dump truck weighs at least 10-15 tons.”
The load limit of the Washington Avenue Bridge was reduced from the original 20-33 tons to 5 tons (about 10,000 pounds) as early as August 2019. In a notice issued by the city of Wheeling on August 19, 2019, it was stated that the weight limit would be effective from August 26, and drivers of large vehicles needed to plan their routes in advance, with violators facing fines. This adjustment was made after a state-level inspection of the bridge by the West Virginia Division of Highways in the same year revealed damage to the aging bridge structure.
The demolition work of the Washington Avenue Bridge started in December 2025 and was expected to take about a year. When the bridge collapsed on the afternoon of January 7, 2026, nearby businesses and residents heard a loud noise. The Wheeling city’s 911 emergency response line received multiple calls reporting the unidentified loud sound.
Philip Stahl, the Wheeling Police & Fire Public Information Officer, stated, “Many local residents heard a loud noise and subsequently received multiple 911 calls from that area. The fire department, police department, sheriff’s office, emergency management department, city officials, and a large number of rescue personnel quickly rushed to the scene to rescue the trapped individuals and provide medical treatment.”
The three workers were taken to the hospital, with one reportedly sustaining serious injuries while the other two were not in a life-threatening condition.