Ohio County Sheriff Tom Howard has been impressed with the work performed by the crews with Swank Construction, but he also has noticed changes to the overall project plan for the westbound bridges and ramps along Interstate 70.
Swank Construction was awarded the $214 million bid to repair or replace 25 spans and ramps along I-70 in Ohio County. The project is a part of the “Roads to Prosperity” initiative and is expected to extend into 2022. The construction was delayed for more than a year after W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice rejected the first lowest bid of $275 million on Aug. 31, 2018.
“That’s when a lot of things were changed as far as the scope of the project,” Howard explained. “When the state released the new plan, there were some significant changes, but I still thought it was going to be OK. But now, after about a year into this, I can tell that some things were cut back on.
“I know the budget is the budget. We all understand that,” he said. “But I just hope they don’t have to come back in here in a few years after it’s all done and have to shut it down against.”
Howard and Chief Deputy John Schultz attended a number of “stakeholder” meetings with officials of the state Division of Highways, so they knew how to prepare the department’s deputies for significant traffic issues and lane closures. It was during those gathering when Howard and Schultz learned which bridges would be repaired and re-decked and which would be completely replaced.
“Now that we are almost through the first phase, some things haven’t been done the way we were told,” the sheriff reported. “Some of the infrastructure that I thought was getting totally replaced is not now, and some of those piers really look like they should have been replaced.”
Approaching Deadline
According to the proposed schedule distributed by the DOH, the repaired and replaced bridges along I-70 westbound were to be completed by Nov. 1. One of the spans, however, remains closed and causes motorists to exit the interstate near Kroger (Exit 2A), navigate Mount de Chantal Road and National Road, and then take the entrance ramp past Perkins Restaurant.
Howard, in fact, has found himself delayed in the area while on duty.
“The work that has been completed looks great, and it does look like quality work,” Howard said. “The replacement of the bridges that are referred to as the ‘Fulton bridges’ has been impressive, but they still have a lot of work on the ramps just before the tunnel. Those appear as if they are going to take a while, and I thought those bridges were supposed to be replaced, too.
“Now, near Kroger and Perkins, there’s a lot of traffic because motorists still have to get off and then get back on,” he said. “I have heard from a lot of people who have had a terrible time trying to get into Kroger because of all the traffic. I’m sure their business is hurting because of it.”
As soon as the span that carries I-70 Over Mount de Chantal Road is reopened, though, the traffic issue should be resolved. The sheriff, however, does not know when that will take place.
“I think they are going to have a hard time making the deadline because of the work that I see that still needs to be performed,” Howard said. “That’s why I am worried about work being rushed toward the end of the first stage. The one bridge that is near Perkins still isn’t open, and apparently it is not getting replaced like I was told in the beginning.
“I think we all know that when work is done too quickly, the quality suffers, and I would hate to see that be the case,” he said. “That particular bridge has a lot of work that needs to be done, and it appears that they have only less than a month now. The people in this county waited a long time for this project, and I just hope to see it completed the right way.”
Speed Racers
The highest thus far has been 109 mph, and far too frequently do Ohio County deputies issue citations to motorists who travel in excess of 90 mph.
With the posted speed limit at 45 mph, enforcement from state line to state line has been heavy for the past 10 months.
“Our department has been running a lot of traffic enforcement because we are still getting people who are just flying through there. Most of them are from out of state, but we still pull over local residents, too,” Howard reported. “We have written a huge amount of citations from Elm Grove to the state line, and that’s because people are going as fast as 90 mph through those construction zones.
“Those drivers apparently do not care about all of the speed limit signs that say 45 mph,” he said. “My guess is that they are paying attention to navigation systems that have yet to be updated instead, and those fines are double because the construction zone starts at the Ohio-West Virginia border and doesn’t end until the state line with Pennsylvania.”
With the next shift in traffic patterns scheduled for February, Howard expects many more accidents to occur.
“As the crews begin the eastbound side of Interstate 70, motorists are going to have to pay attention to those changes,” he said. “We still get a lot of wrecks around the 7-mile marker because of the westbound lanes split there, and those barrels have taken an absolute beating.
“Our deputies have worked really hard to try to get those speeds down, and they have to do the same when we get into the next phase of this project,” Howard added. “We’ve had some major accidents with serious injuries between Elm Grove and the Highlands, so we’re going to do what we can to keep people as safe as possible.”
