After seven years of planning and planning again, the design for the $25 million streetscape in downtown Wheeling finally is in the state capitol for approval.
City Manager Bob Herron confirmed that officials from Division of Highways District 6 completed their review of the two-year project earlier this month and have sent the files to Jimmy Wriston, the secretary of the state Department of Transportation. The streetscape initially was introduced in 2015 with a price tag of $9 million, but the project has grown in scope and expense even since for various reasons.
When finished, though, Herron is confident the fresh appearance of the downtown area between 10th and 16thstreets will have a positive impact on commerce.
“There have been a lot of infrastructure projects that have taken place, including a water line project that was finished about two-and-a-half months ahead of schedule. And then, because of federal regulations, the scope of the project has increased to include access to (W.Va. Route2) from downtown on 16th Street,” Herron said. “So, this project has evolved, and although it has been delayed and it’s difficult to drive down Main and Market streets right now, it really will be a complete streetscape project.
“Once it is done, the people of Wheeling will be very happy with the final products,” the city manager said. “And hopefully they will feel as if it was well worth the wait because it really is going to change the face of downtown Wheeling for the next 40 years.”
Brand New
Curbs. Sidewalks. Traffic signals. Trees. And yes, pavement.
All new.
That is when Wriston and his staff are finished supplying their comments and recommendations.
“The people at the District 6 Office, including the engineer Tony Clark, took their time to really comb through the project to refine it before it was sent to Charleston,” Herron explained. “He did that hoping that it would cut down on the time we wait for the approval from the DOT.”
Herron is hopeful Clark’s plan works because the city manager is well aware of the frustrations of the motorists attempting to navigate Main and Market streets.
“It’s a very large project, and there are 500 sheets of documents and drawings, and it has been submitted to the Engineering and Planning Department of the West Virginia Department of Highways,” he said. “That’s a very important step, and we’re anxiously awaiting their review and comment on it.
“We’re hoping that review will be completed soon, and then it will go back to District 6 to review the comments made by state officials. By that point, I am hopeful it will be ready to go out for bid,” Herron said. “I can’t stress enough how much this project has grown since it was first introduced. It was basically a paving project with sidewalks added to it. But then we started looking at a lot more aspects to the project, and it grew from there.”
Nearly 30 Years
It was during the mid-1990s when the most recent beautification project took place in downtown Wheeling, and the improvements included the trees, red-brick sections of curbing and paving.
A few years later, a proposal to transform downtown Wheeling into an outlet mall destination was introduced, but the $35 million from the state was blocked by lawsuits and ultimately went to the Ohio County Commission as seed money for The Highlands. While there is no official plan in place for the addition of businesses big and small, the members of Wheeling Council approved underground infrastructure projects to handle the construction and operation of new multi-floor buildings in the downtown area.
But Herron believes once they build it, new businesses will come.
“It is my belief that this project will make downtown Wheeling a very attractive area, and I believe that will help add new businesses to Main and Market streets,” Herron said. “The project has what is called bump-out areas that are designed to slow traffic, and there will be new sidewalks, new trees, new signalization, and there is also the lighting component that will be very attractive, too.
“This streetscape is going to totally transform our downtown, and it’s going to make the area incredibly attractive,” he said. “It has been a very challenging project because it has a lot of moving parts to it, but I have nothing but great things to say about the team that is down at the District 6 office. They have been great to work with and great partners with this project, and hopefully it can get started later this year.”
