When employees with Swank Construction initially descended on Ohio County to begin working on the westbound lanes of Interstate 70, Ohio County Sheriff Tom Howard was most concerned with the posted detours, traffic congestion, vehicular accidents, and the weather.
Now, with the work on the eastbound side of I-70?
Howard remains worried about much the same as he was in September 2019, but the sheriff has added one more.
“The loss of life.”
While accidents seem common along I-70 in Ohio County without construction, the sheriff’s uneasiness with the second half of the $214 million “Roads to Prosperity” project is connected to a lack of access to Wheeling Hospital.
“We are still very concerned for several reasons,” Howard said. “We had a meeting about it just the other day, and after hearing what was discussed, I believe we’re going to have some major pains. One thing that really has me worried is that we still don’t have a solid detour to the hospital, and that means we’re going to have to go around, and that’s going to take a lot more time that some may not have.
“We’ll be able to use old 20th Street, but that hasn’t been maintained, and it can be tricky in bad weather,” he said. “One thing we know for sure no matter what detour option is taken, and that is we’re going to be delayed getting to Wheeling Hospital. I still believe replacing the Manchester Bridge would have been the best thing that could have been done, but no one wanted to listen.”
A Downtown Shutdown
Ongoing construction currently is taking place along Main and Market streets in downtown Wheeling in preparation for the $25 million streetscape project that is scheduled to begin in the late spring. The city of Wheeling has addressed underground infrastructure for more than a year, and the installation of a new water main as well as storm sewer separation is taking place right now.
But Howard learned of the eastbound exit closure for Main Street once motorists travel over the Fort Henry Bridge.
“I think one of the biggest inconveniences local residents will see is that the downtown ramp (Exit 1A) from the I-70 eastbound will be closed for 120 days,” Howard reported. “That ramp needs a lot of work, too, just like all of the other ones, but I think that exit is one that we take for granted. But once it’s closed, you won’t be able to get into the downtown for at least three months.
“Instead, people will have to go through the tunnel and take the exit for U.S. 250 south toward 16th Street and go into town that way,” he advised. “There’s no reason to get off the interstate in Bridgeport, either, because the Suspension Bridge is still closed. Now, once that ramp re-opens, it will be a part of the detour because those three bridges east of the tunnel will be closed to be replaced or renovated, and that will last until November.”
So Far, So Good … But There’s Always a ‘But’
In January 2020, the Wheeling area experienced its only significant snowfall, and the white-out conditions resulted in a plethora of interstate accidents in close proximity to The Highlands. The weather event, however, was brief and did not delay the Swank crew members.
The coronavirus pandemic did force a two-week work stoppage in April, so the construction company’s employees could return home while the world was learning more about Covid-19 and how to take proper precautions at the many work sites along I-70.
“That was a little crazy for everyone because no one knew how long those employees would be gone,” Howard recalled. “Company officials did tell us at the time that they were ahead of schedule, but I honestly didn’t think they were going to meet the deadlines.”
But Swank did. The Fulton bridges reopened in time for Oglebay’s Festival of Lights, a two-month event that realize its best attendance in recent years.
“I think the westbound lanes came out pretty well,” Howard said. “Sure, there are some little things that they have to finish up, but overall, I’m sure people have noticed the difference between the westbound and eastbound lanes. Traveling westbound now is a very smooth ride, but the eastbound? It’s still pretty rough.
“With that said, I think the work on the eastbound side is going to be more challenging for the construction company, and it’s going to be challenging for law enforcement, the Wheeling Fire Department, and for the EMS services we have in the city and the county,” Howard insisted. “The ambulance crews that are coming in from East Ohio are going to have their hands full, too.”
With East Ohio Regional Hospital still not open in Martins Ferry, EMS crews will need to travel three miles south to gain access to I-470 eastbound and exit in Elm Grove on their way to Medical Park.
“We have been advised that some signage goes up to help those folks get to where they need to go, but most emergency personnel will have to go down to I-470 and go around,” he said. “That’s why I think the eastbound work is going to put a lot of strain on all resources as far as law enforcement and medical.
“But the work in the Elm Grove area will not be completed until around June, and that may be a very congested area because that’s where I-70 merges with Interstate 470,” he explained. “I-470 will become the major detour now that we’re talking about the work on the eastbound side, and that’s why we were hoping the bridges in Elm Grove would have been completed by now. We plan on doing whatever we can to help get the ambulances to Wheeling Hospital.”
