Published: October 11, 2008 11:34 pm         

‘Suspicious’ people calls shut down gorge bridge

“Suspicious” people reportedly walking on the New River Gorge Bridge shut down the large Fayetteville span for about two hours Saturday — exactly one week before this year’s Bridge Day, authorities said.

However, authorities said no suspicious people were found, no public hazard had been substantiated and the bridge was safe for motorists.

Around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the Fayette County 911 Center received several reports of “suspicious people” walking on the bridge and along U.S. 19, said Steve Cruikshank, the county’s director of emergency services. No one knew what they may have been doing on the bridge, but authorities did not want to take chances. The bridge was shut down for authorities to try and determine what was happening.

Authorities searched the entire bridge area and found no suspicious people and/or items, Cruikshank said.

“Shutting down a federal highway is not something we take lightly,” he said. “But we will not hesitate to do what needs to be done. You don’t know until you know.

“In this day and age, you take things seriously until you know otherwise.”

The “minute” the bridge was shut down, numerous rumors about what may have been happening flooded the 911 center, Cruikshank said, including reports of people trying to jump off the bridge and even a bomb threat, but nothing was substantiated.

“It was rumors of ‘I heard this’ and ‘I heard that,’” he said. “As far as I can tell, it was people supposing why the bridge was shut down. If we have to shut it down for a wreck, people start supposing.”

Descriptions and numbers of the people supposedly on the bridge varied as well, Cruikshank said. Agencies such as the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, State Police and FBI will work to determine who may have been on the bridge and for what reason. Until then, the bridge is safe for motorists.

“We’re in the process of tracking down everything — finding out who said what,” he said.

Bridge Day planning will continue, Cruikshank said.

The bridge was shut down for about two hours, Cruikshank estimated. During that time, some U.S. 19 motorists were rerouted through U.S. 60 and W.Va. 16. Exactly how many motorists took the detour was unknown. However, Cruikshank said locals will usually take the detour, while those passing through are generally less comfortable with the alternate route and choose to wait.

— E-mail: apridemore@register-herald.com