Motorists on Oregon’s Seaman Road can be forgiven if they never noticed crossing a bridge just east of Wheeling Street.

But even small bridges eventually need to be replaced, and that’s what’s about to happen with the tiny structure spanning Duck Creek between Wheeling and Whittlesey Avenue.

The E.S. Wagner Co. holds a $723,419.30 contract for the work, 80 percent of which is to be paid for from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Municipal Bridge Program and another 15 percent from the state’s Toll Revenue Credit program. It’s scheduled to take 2½ months to complete once it starts Monday, said Rodney Shultz, a deputy city engineer.

The bridge just east of Wheeling is used by about 5,140 vehicles per day, Mr. Shultz said. A posted detour will use Starr Avenue between Wheeling and Coy Road until the new bridge’s opening.

The 26-foot, single-span structure now there is small enough that it has only standard steel guardrails for its side walls. Before trees and underbrush surrounding it were cleared away to make room for construction equipment, a few bumps in the road would have been most drivers’ only clue to its existence.

It was last repaired in 2005, when its exterior beams were rehabilitated. A substantial crack was visible Sunday in its easterly abutment and concrete spalling was evident elsewhere. Mr. Shultz said it received a “4-A” — poor — rating during its most recent inspection.

Its replacement will be a precast, reinforced concrete structure with three sides and a flat top, plus reinforced concrete wing walls.

“The new structure will be wider, to accommodate both vehicular and pedestrian and bike traffic,” Mr. Shutlz said.

It will have two traffic lanes 12 feet wide, 5-foot paved shoulders on both sides, and a 5-foot sidewalk on its south side.

First Published May 25, 2020, 10:12 p.m.