As crew members with Triton Construction inch their way down Main Street while working on the eastside curbs, motorists, their passengers, and pedestrians have started to see how the downtown’s new look will appear when the $32 million streetscape is completed sometime in 2025.
Instead of a curb line that travels straight down the street, “bump outs” are featured at every intersection and planned pedestrian crossing. The “bump outs” are designed to slow traffic. The curbs are concrete, and along the sidewalk appear new, brick lay-ins similar to what was instead during previous beautification projects.
“It’s very intricate, that’s for sure,” said Charlie Reynolds, the new district engineer for WVDOH District 6. “And it’s going to take a while longer, but when it’s all finished it’s really going to be an attractive downtown setting and you can see it coming together in a few areas.
“The renderings are one thing, but when you can start seeing things come to life, it’s really cool thing to see. I’ve only been on this job for about a month or so, and I’ve seen progress take place in that short amount of time,” the former state lawmaker said. “We have a lot of projects taking place right now throughout the (northern) panhandle, but this one is really unique because of the design of it.”
At the same time the beautification piece of the project continues, a massive stormwater management part has clogged traffic along Market Street in recent weeks. A similar series of underground installations took place six years ago as a part of the construction of The Health Plan’s headquarters.
“The stormwater work is making a pretty good-size mess right now, but once it’s done, it’s done for a very long time,” Reynolds said. “A lot of the underground pipes in downtown Wheeling are decades old so this is going to be a heck of an upgrade for the downtown, and once it’s completed it’ll be fun to see what happens next.
“There are a lot of parts to this whole thing and that means the orange barrels aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, but if motorists take their time, they’ll be just fine,” he said. “It’s a long time in coming, that’s for sure.”
