Now that the extensive, $214 million project on Interstate 70 is more than halfway complete, many motorists in the Upper Ohio Valley are wondering when it will be necessary to perform the same to Interstate 470.
The short answer? Not now, and not immediately following the I-70 repairs.
The official answer?
“The interstates get regular inspections, and then we do the work that those guys tell us is needed,” said Tony Clark, District 6 engineer. “But I do know that I-470 is not nearly to the point to where I-70 was when that project started more than a year ago. If there are areas the inspectors feel need painted, that is noted, and then we look at when it’s best to get that completed.
“There have been times when the inspectors discover structural issues or areas that have rusted, and when those issues are addressed, that is usually when painting is included in the project,” he said. “Some areas may appear as if they need painted now, but we have not received anything from those inspectors that indicate the need for any significant work or painting right now.”
Middle Age?
The 10.6-mile stretch of I-470 between Richland Township, Ohio, to the Elm Grove area of Wheeling was initially designed by the Bureau of Public Roads in 1955, but construction on the bypass did not begin until the mid-1970s. Completed in 1983 by the W.Va. Department of Transportation in the Ohio Department of Transportation, now more than 30,000 vehicles utilize the roadway daily.
In September 1996, a stretch of I-470 near the West Virginia-Ohio border was closed after a sink hole from an abandoned mine developed. The freeway was shuttered for four months and reopened on Dec. 22, 1996, according to reports in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Suddenly, though, Interstate 470 is nearly 40 years old, and in some areas, the freeway is showing its age.
“There have been occasions when painting and only painting the steel has taken place, but we can’t paint it all at once just like we can’t pave every road,” Clark explained. “But there is a balance because of how large the district is, and that is why we spread that work around so we can take care of the issues that we have through the six counties.
“But once the I-70 project is complete, that should take care of the major work that is necessary on those roadways for a while,” he explained. “Now, if something comes up when an inspection takes place, we’ll have to address it, of course, so I won’t speculate right now about what could be needed in the future.”
Smooth Sailing
Crews with Swank Construction have been working on I-70 since late in 2019 and will not be pulled out of Ohio County for another year. Two of the westbound bridges east of Wheeling Tunnel were completely rehabilitated, and the middle span, known as the “Fulton Bridge,” was completely replaced.
Now, the same is under way on the eastbound side while re-decking continues on near the three-mile marker and Elm Grove.
So far, so good, according to the District 6 engineer.
“There haven’t been too many surprises to this point, and that’s because the people with Swank knew what to expect,” Clark explained. “The plans were in place, of course, when the bidding took place. That’s why they knew what the issues where along I-70.
“Really, the biggest surprise that we have experienced is when someone drove the right way through the tunnel and ran into the end of the bridge,” he recalled. “That’s something that definitely do not take place very often, but it did. That motorist ran right into the end of the beams, and he is very lucky to be alive today. That could have ended very differently.”
The original schedule for the I-70 project called for a December 2020 completion, but that has been extended into early 2021 because of additional painting near the Fort Henry Bridge.
“I hesitate to say that we haven’t had issues because there have been some, but overall, the I-70 project has gone very smoothly, especially during this Covid pandemic,” Clark said. “For a project of that size and with the tight deadlines that are in place, I think it has gone very well so far.”
