×

Informational meeting planned for I-70 bridge project

WHEELING — As survey crews continue collecting data for a major bridge rehabilitation project that is scheduled to begin later this year on Interstate 70, the West Virginia Department of Transportation has scheduled an informational meeting to answer questions the public may have about the modifications.

The West Virginia Division of Highways plans to replace or rehabilitate 26 bridges in Ohio County from the Ohio state line to Elm Grove. The project will include work on abutments and approaches.

Survey crews have been spotted gathering information along I-70 near the Wheeling Tunnel and Fort Henry Bridge during the past few weeks. Now, West Virginia Division of Highways District 6 Engineer Dave Brabham says DOH officials have scheduled an informational meeting for 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at West Virginia Independence Hall in downtown Wheeling to better inform the public about the upcoming project.

The work is scheduled to take place between the Ohio state line and the Elm Grove section of Wheeling. Right now, crews are recording bridge elevation figures and other data. Brabham said he expects the meeting to emphasize detour plans and anticipated road closures that will result from the project.

“We are still in the design phase,” Brabham noted last week.

He said the WVDOH still has to put the project back out to bid sometime in the coming months after reducing the original scope of it. He said while officials still don’t have all the details nailed down, they will answer questions raised during the Feb. 27 meeting with the information that is currently available.

“It’s a public meeting … where they (the public) can ask any kind of question about what the anticipated construction schedule might be,” Brabham said.

While no “formal” presentation will be made during the session, the public will be afforded the opportunity to ask questions and give written comments about the project during the meeting. A handout, which will include project details, will be available at the meeting and posted on the WVDOH website, transportation.wv.gov/highways.

Brabham said he plans to attend the meeting along with other representatives of the division and design consultants with West Virginia Department of Transportation and Ohio Department of Transportation. The meeting complies with public involvement requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, he said. For further project information, visit go.wv.gov/dotcomment.

It was the end of August when Gov. Jim Justice announced the West Virginia DOT had rejected the low bid of $275 million for the project as originally planned. That bid was proposed by Trumbull-Kokosing, a contractor and engineering firm seeking to work jointly on the design phase of the project.

The original cost estimate was $170 million, which was later increased to $201 million — still well below the bid that was received. At that time, Justice said the DOT had begun a review and evaluation process to change the scope of the project so that it could be re-bid. State officials claim inflation contributed to the higher-than-anticipated bids.

In 2017 West Virginia voters approved a $1.6 billion “Roads to Prosperity” bond issue to improve roads throughout the state, with the largest of the projects to be the I-70 project in Ohio County.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today