Feb 2, 2020 3 min read

WHEELING – More than 50,000 vehicles travel Interstate 70 through Wheeling every day, making it one of the busiest highways in the country.

Beginning Monday morning, though, the number of cars traveling on the westbound lanes near the Wheeling Tunnel will drop to zero as construction crews close the interstate to begin a nine-month reconstruction project on one of the Fulton Bridges.

That has made the preparation for the I-70 Bridges Project over the past two years imperative in order to let motorists know how to get around the construction and closure, according to Tony Clark, manager of West Virginia Division of Highways District 6, which is overseeing the work.

“It’s exciting, but it’s terrifying in a way any time you have to close a major interstate,” Clark said Friday during a media tour of the construction site under the Fulton Bridges. “With this project, we’ve gone above and beyond (informing motorists of the detour).”

That includes consulting with tech and mapping companies, such as Google and Waze, to let them know about the westbound closure in an attempt to send motorists who are bypassing Wheeling to the main detour on Interstate 470 to get around the construction. Local motorists trying to get to Downtown Wheeling will be able to take Route 40 by exiting the interstate at the Oglebay Park 2A off-ramp and following the detour signs over Wheeling Hill.

“We let (Google and Waze) know the interstate is not closed because of a crash that will eventually reopen. You won’t be able to sit and wait for it to reopen, unless you want to wait for nine months,” Clark said with a laugh.

A plethora of electronic and temporary signs along I-70 in Ohio County will be unveiled before the interstate is closed about 10 a.m. Monday, Clark said. The Oglebay Park westbound on-ramp heading toward the tunnel will close about 5 a.m. to let construction crews get a head start on the work. Eastbound traffic on I-70 will not be impacted by the closure.

“Our crews have been doing everything they can to plan and prepare,” Clark said.

Unlike other overpasses on I-70 that only require single-lane closures as crews rehabilitate those bridges, the two Fulton Bridges must be “completely removed, completely replaced” because of their design, Clark said. The new spans will have “redundancies” built in to make them safer and more durable.

“The bridge will be completely rebuilt, from the ground up,” Clark said.

District 6 Construction Engineer Mike Witherow said I-470 should be able to handle the increased traffic without delays, unless there are accidents or issues with disabled vehicles on the shoulder.

Swank Construction, the lead contractor on the project, will be monitoring traffic and the condition of Route 40 to see if that road is deteriorating. Clarks asked motorists to be alert and careful while traveling through the work zones and detours.

“Work is still ongoing and it’s not going to stop,” Clark said. “We’re getting everyone ready to go so they’re ready for the shutdown.”

Crews will turn their attention early next year to the other Fulton Bridge with a similar construction project that will close I-70’s eastbound lanes near the Wheeling Tunnel. The entire I-70 Bridges project is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.