Local officials have not received any updates from state Division of Highways officials or from management from Swank Construction during the coronavirus pandemic concerning the ongoing construction of 26 bridges along Interstate 70 in Ohio County.
According to the schedule released by the W.Va. Division of Highways late last year, the three westbound bridge systems near Wheeling Tunnel began in February and would be completed by the beginning of November. Crews with Swank Construction did suspend the project for two weeks after Gov. Jim Justice issued the stay-at-home order in March.
“But after that I was told by the people in Charleston that those two weeks would not cause a delay with the November deadline,” explained Del. Erikka Storch (R-3rd), who also is the president of the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce. “That was encouraging at that time, but now it’s been several weeks since any other information has been offered to us.
“We can all see that the crews are still working, but there’s no way of knowing if it’s on schedule unless it comes from Swank or from the state,” the lawmaker said. “I just keeping watching for signs of progress, and there have been some; that’s for sure.”
2030 FHA Mandate
The longest of the three bridge systems has been removed, and new pier supports are in place, and that is why Ohio County Sheriff Tom Howard expects soon to observe the installation of steel beams in the coming weeks.
The supports, in fact, appear to be wider than the old ones, the sheriff said.
“Because the old piers are still there, you can easily tell the difference,” Howard said. “I do know that the Division of Highways has been mandated by the Federal Highways Administration to widen Interstate 70 to three lanes by 2030, so I have to wonder if they are taking care of that in this area now instead of later. It would make sense if that’s the case.
“I guess we’ll know for sure when they start placing the beams for the new road,” the sheriff explained. “I know during the planning process, there was confusion about the number of lanes Interstate 70 has in certain areas, but I’m confident the folks with Swank have figured that stuff out.”
W.Va. Del. Shawn Fluharty hopes that communication between the state, Swank Construction, and the county’s state representation improves soon so local motorists know what to expect as the three-year project moves forward.
“I know we are in the middle of this pandemic and that the level of frustration is pretty high right now, but people need to know what’s going on so they can prepare for it,” he said. “I know we all were really worried when the work started because of weather, the amount of traffic that travels I-70 through Ohio County, and because of all the unknowns, but it seems to be going well.”
Best-Case Scenario?
There were concerns, of course, when the “Roads to Prosperity” project was initially announced because the first round of bidding was trashed by Gov. Justice because of the expense and also because of the massive scope involving the replacement of six bridges and the re-decking of the other 19 spans.
On average, according to data released by the WVDOH in 2017, an average of 55,000 vehicles utilize I-70 through Ohio County on a daily basis. Couple that statistic with the additional 35,000 that travel Interstate 470 each day, and the potential for problems seemed very likely, Sheriff Howard confirmed.
“Plus, they got started in the winter, and it didn’t begin smoothly with a lot of delays and confusion,” he said. “But we only had one or two significant snows this past winter, so that was a very good thing, and our local residents really adapted well. And, let’s face it; during this pandemic not as many people were out on the roads, and that has helped, for sure.
“I was also concerned about the detours because of the condition of Wheeling Hill and how much rain we usually get in this area during the spring season, but so far, so good,” Howard said. “We can only hope it stays that way, but the potential for a really big problem is still there because one big hillside slip would produce one big traffic cluster.”
Storch has also been pleasantly surprised with the lack of issues caused by the construction.
“I remember in the very beginning, I gave some serious thought to riding my bike to work,” she said. “I don’t think anyone really knew what to expect, but the crews have done a lot of work that has caused some inconvenience, but not anything close to what I thought was possible.”
