Welch invests in new amenities, bridge project ahead of summer visitors

Welch is betting that a new pool facility and a proposed bridge can do more than add amenities. City leaders are using both projects to push the county seat back toward normal summer use after repeated flood damage, while trying to keep roads open and downtown active when visitors arrive.

The city issued a bid request April 9 for a new Linkous Pool Facility at 376 Linkous Park Road. Bids are due by 3:00 p.m. Friday, April 24, and will be publicly opened at 3:00 p.m. Monday, April 27. The planned building is a 20-by-30-foot structure with a concrete floor, metal roof, LED lighting, 200-amp electrical service, showers, lockers and ADA restroom features.

Welch officials are framing the work as part of a wider effort to make the city more usable, not just more polished. The city describes itself on its official website as the county seat of McDowell County and promotes Welch as a place for ATV riding, hiking, annual community events and its historic commercial district, alongside the “CoalTown, USA” label. The McDowell Street bridge proposal is part of that same pitch: the city says the crossing would reduce road closures during high-water events, a practical fix in a flood-prone town where access can disappear fast.

Mayor Harold McBride has said Welch is working to get residents and attractions back to normal so people can enjoy the summer. He pointed to reopened pools, recreational areas, tennis, pickleball and basketball courts, along with the Coal Town Creamery, after the February 2025 floods. McBride also said the city held its 4th annual Coalfields Cookoff June 6-8, 2025, and drew 27 teams, a sign that organizers hope to build on as the season turns.

The flood threat is not abstract in Welch. McBride said he remembers major floods in 1977, 2001 and 2002, and he has argued for small flood walls and a bridge connection to the hospital to better withstand the next disaster. That history gives the current spending push a sharper edge: the city is not only trying to improve summer amenities, but also to keep basic routes open when water rises.

The redevelopment work in Welch already has a larger precedent. Renaissance Village, backed by Reconnecting McDowell and the American Federation of Teachers, was described as the first new multi-story construction project in Welch in more than 50 years. The project added 16 residential units, 9,800 square feet of commercial space, a Federally Qualified Health Center component, 18 full-time jobs and 50 construction jobs.

For Welch, the test this summer will be whether those investments bring more than good publicity. City leaders are trying to show that a pool building, a bridge plan and reopened recreation spaces can serve the same goal: making downtown, neighborhood amenities and emergency access hold up when the next flood season comes.