Although the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office has not received an update for months from the state Division of Highways on the bridge construction along Interstate 70, Chief Deputy John Schultz has witnessed much progress take place on the three “Fulton bridges” east of Wheeling Tunnel.
According to the schedule released by the DOH more than a year ago, the westbound spans are to be completed by the beginning of November 2020, and demolition on the eastbound bridges is set for January 2021. Swank Construction out of Bridgeville, Pa., is the general contractor, and the “Roads to Prosperity” project involves 26 spans and ramps along the 15 miles of interstate in Ohio County.
“I can’t tell you if it’s on schedule or not because we’ve not been told, but there’s a lot of construction that has taken place, and a lot of work has been completed,” Schultz explained. “There have been times since the beginning that it seemed unrealistic that the three Fulton bridges could be demolished and reconstructed in that short amount of time, but those crews have been working very hard.
“The difference between the size of the beams is impressive,” he continued. “The news ones are much larger than the ones that were originally used because that’s the kind of materials they are using these days. If you think about it, it’s been more than 50 years since the interstate went through this area, and that’s a long time to learn what works better today than back then.”
Eastbound Concerns
The master schedule calls for work on the eastbound bridges in the Fulton area to begin at the beginning of January and to be completed by the end of October, a nine-month period during which access to the city’s one and only hospital, Wheeling Hospital, will be limited.
“We’ve been worried about that access since the very beginning,” Schultz reported. “And then, when OVMC was closed, we immediately started requesting that the old Manchester Bridge be replaced, but there really wasn’t any interest in doing that from the DOH people.
“Even if was one of those temporary bridges, it would have meant the people who live on the west side of Wheeling still would have been connected to the area where Medical Park is,” he said. “I’m not sure how many times Sheriff Tom Howard and I mentioned it, but I really don’t think it was ever seriously considered.”
Once W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice announced two weeks ago how he planned to distribute federal relief funds, he included $100 million for “COVID-19-related highway projects” to improve access to medical facilities in the Mountain State, but the chief deputy highly doubts replacing the Manchester Bridge is included.
“Based on their reactions when we would mention the project, it’s still not going to happen,” Schultz said. “I know it makes total sense to the people who live in areas close to downtown Wheeling, and that’s why we kept mentioning it during the stakeholder meetings.”
Slow Down!
Ohio County deputies continue to issue citations along Interstate 70 for speeding, and Schultz said the enforcement will continue to ensure the safety of motorists and construction workers along the freeway.
“I’d say the vast majority of drivers are following the speed limits, but not all, and that’s been a problem,” he reported. “When you have someone driving more than 90 mph in those construction areas, that places a lot of people in danger, and it’s not fair to the folks who taking their time.
“Our deputies issue a lot of warnings, too, and that’s up to their discretion, but I can tell you that if you are traveling at a dangerous speed, you’re getting a ticket,” Schultz insisted. “I think a lot of people forget that speeding tickets in construction areas are doubled, and that can be very costly.”
There is good news, according to the chief deputy, concerning the massive project along Interstate 70.
“The way I look at it, when the westbound Fulton bridges are finished and reopened, it means there’s less than a year left for the overall project,” Schultz said. “When the eastbound bridges are up, all of the other projects should be completed or pretty close to it.
“I know for some local residents, it’s been a learning process because I-70 is how most of us have traveled the city all of our lives,” he added. “It’s been an interesting process to watch for everyone because we’ve never seen it before, but I’m sure everyone in Ohio County is ready for it to end even though it’s not been the nightmare we thought it could become.”
