Why Is 29th & Jacob Streets Intersection a Giant Speed Bump?

If a motorist is traveling south on Jacob Street and is approaching the intersection with 29^th Street in South Wheeling, those in the know slow their vehicles to a speed lower than 20 mph.

Why? Because this particular intersection, with Dairy Queen on one side of 29^th Street and the Bridgelin Chinese Restaurant on the other, is nowhere near as smooth as National Road and Bethany Pike in Woodsdale or Warwood Avenue and Viking Drive in Warwood.

Those NOT in the know? Even though this particular intersection has not allowed for smooth driving for a number of years?  Well, after the car or truck they’re operating bottoms out, they learn very quickly that a number of underground projects have made the crossroads an unofficial speed bump.

“That intersection is the state’s responsibility, and we have had conversations with them about it. The biggest issue we have had with projects like this has been the number of (District Engineers) this district (6) have had over the last five or so years,” explained Bob Herron, now in his 22^nd year as Wheeling’s city manager. “So, the proposed project for the 29^th Street intersection really hasn’t been addressed the way it needs to be because no one has been in place long enough to get anything moving on it.

“It’s on our list and we plan to bring it up again because we know there are a lot of great administrative people who work for the Division of Highways, but we’re hoping for some consistency with the DE position in the future,” he said. “It’s almost been my experience that the people within DOH do not communicate very well with each other because of the changes in that position. That’s been an issue, too.”

Wheeling’s city manager is experiencing the same issue as it pertains to a rough stretch of Mount de Chantal Road near Kroger’s. Over the past few months, the city and state have debated whose responsibility it is to repair the eroded roadway.

“We’re trying to communicate with the DOH’s Central Office in Charleston concerning the condition of Mount de Chantal Road near Kroger’s, but we’re not hearing much from them about that situation,” Herron reported. “They have told us that they’re working on it, but we’re not sure who we’re going to hear from next at this point.

“We’ve worked with a lot of different people the past five years because of the amount of construction that we’ve had here in Wheeling, and it’s been very confusing at times. There’s been much more than the interstate and the streetscape, that’s for sure,” he said. “I just hope that I’ll reach the right person when I call the Central Office.”

The city of Wheeling is part of District 6, a region that begins with Tyler County and extends north to Hancock County, and over the past 15 years, five full-time and three temporary district engineers have been in the position, including former state lawmaker Charlie Reynolds. He was not available for comment on this article.

Since 2019, approximately $300 million of infrastructure improvements have taken place in the city of Wheeling, including the $225 million bridge and ramps projects along Interstate 70, the beautification and renovation of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge ($19 million), the redecking and renovations to the Monument Bridge in Elm Grove ($4 million), the ongoing, $32 million streetscrape in downtown Wheeling, and several other small projects.

“As far as infrastructure, it’s been the busiest time for the city since I started more than 20 years ago,” Herron said. “And there’s plenty more to do and that’s why we’re hoping that once the new governor (Patrick Morrissey) picks his new cabinet members and the Division of Transportation has new leadership, we’ll see more stability in District 6 so we can see some important projects take place – and that includes smoothing out the intersection at 29^th Street.

“It’s about being able to establish a relationship between our local district and the City, and that’s not been the case for a while,” he said. “That’s not a knock against any of the DEs at all – or the Division of Highways. We’re just hoping for stability in the future once things get a little normal here in Wheeling.”