Photo by Joselyn King. Granite was removed from the stone steps and columns on the 16th Street porch of the City-County Building. Stone that can be recycled will be reused in the project, according to Angelina Stone and Marble staff. Pictured are project manager John Agar (left) and Angelina Stone and Marble staff member Scott Beveridge.
WHEELING – The granite on the exterior of the City-County Building in downtown Wheeling is being removed, with plans calling for much of it to be recycled, reused or replaced in the coming weeks.
Workers from Angelina Stone and Marble work on the portico on the 16th Street side of the building. The building’s columns and stairs on that side have since been removed.
“We’re removing the granite on the front,” explained John Agar, foreman of the project. “What we think can be reused, we’re keeping.”
And it’s no easy task, he continued. He estimates that each granite slab weighs about 260 pounds.
“That’s why we have young people here,” he added.
Steel has been ordered for the next phase of the project, Agar continued, and he expects the shipment to arrive next week so that reconstruction of the portico can begin.
Melissa Marco, project coordinator for Ohio County, updated county commissioners this week on the project’s status.
“Work is progressing on the south porch (on 16th Street). They’ve removed all the stones and taken them to their workshop to work on them,” she explained. “Those stones will be placed on the west porch (facing Chapline Street). It’s coming along well.”
Angelina Stone and Marble bid $187,000 for the work in April. The county has received grants from the State Court Facilities Fund for the project.
According to Marco, the work is expected to take four months.
