WORK SITE — The cleared-off hilltop and a few red protective barriers from the blasting excavation project site, shown here following Wednesday’s blasting operation, can be clearly viewed from parts of Follansbee. -- Christopher Dacanay

MINGO JUNCTION — The first blast of the state Route 7 Rockfall Remediation project was detonated on Aug. 24, marking the beginning of a roughly two-year excavation and landslide prevention operation by the Ohio Department of Transportation, which is focused on a hill near Mingo Junction by the Ohio Department of Transportation.

The $23 million project, with a scheduled completion date of June 30, 2026, has seen protective barriers placed along the project location, which sits alongside Route 7’s southbound lane near Mingo Junction’s Logan Avenue exit and Altamont neighborhood.

Kokosing, the project’s prime contractor, is utilizing blasting for further excavation of the hill. The project began with preliminary excavations on the hilltop overlooking Route 7 meant to prepare the hill for the blasting phase’s beginning, said Lauren Borell, public information officer for ODOT’s Eastern Ohio District 11.

Borell said the hillside became the subject of ODOT’s efforts following a March 2020 landslide, after which Route 7 was limited to a single lane.

“Following the slide,” Borell said, “ODOT inspected the area and found significant geotechnical depreciation, leading to this project. The planning process required substantial geotechnical exploration, environmental studies and engineering. Construction includes major excavation from the top to bottom of the hillside.”

EXCAVATION — A photo shared by Lauren Borell, public information officer for the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Eastern Ohio District 11, shows construction vehicles excavating the hilltop in preparation for blasting. -- Contributed

The project’s purpose, Borell said, is “to remediate the hillside from (the past landslide) and to prevent future landslides from occurring at this location.”

“The Ohio Department of Transportation owns right of way from the bottom to the top of the hillside,” Borell said, “which includes 660 feet from the center of state Route 7 at the widest point of the project.  From that point it tapers back to meet Route 7 at each end.”

Blasting itself requires the drilling of holes in preselected locations on the hillside “to loosen the soil and large rocks for the purpose of excavation,” Borell said, after which “shots are … loaded by licensed blasters into the holes the day of blasting.”

A daily operation, blasting will occur at noon on weekdays if weather permits. For the safety of motorists, traffic is stopped for 15 minutes, assisted by law enforcement.

“Prior to blasting,” Borell said, “traffic is slowed to a complete stop three minutes prior to the shot being set off. Traffic is then held until the contractor gives an all clear to law enforcement for traffic to resume.”

After the scheduled blast, the contractor will check Route 7’s northbound and southbound lanes for debris and clear any away before resuming traffic. Borell said blasting will be performed as close to the scheduled time of noon as possible, but any significant time changes will be shared with the public in advance by ODOT.

Law enforcement uses a rolling roadblock in each direction to stop traffic in advance of the designated stopping point, Borell said. Northbound traffic will be stopped at Mingo Junction’s Commercial Street on-ramp and southbound traffic will be stopped just south of the Steubenville Mr. Fuel Travel Center.

Borell said all lanes of traffic will be open without restrictions at the project’s completion — two lanes going in both directions.

For progress reports on the project or to leave public comments, individuals can visit the ODOT’s project page on the department’s website, with project ID No. 113626. Also, information will be posted every week in a weekly construction report and social media post by the ODOT Eastern Ohio District 11 Facebook page.

The project’s blast zone, Borell said, is a “1,500-foot radius around the blast itself” containing 37 homes that may feel the detonated blast.

Borell said, “There are federal and state limits on the vibrations the blasts are allowed to create and will be monitored by seismograph to make sure those limits are not exceeded.

“Voluntary pre-blast surveys were conducted on all structures within 1,500 feet of the project site. These surveys provide important protection for both the homeowner and the contractor to have record of the structures existing condition prior to the construction project,” she said.

At a town hall meeting with Mingo Junction Village Council and residents, ODOT project engineer Adam Lytton said the blast zone is not a “danger zone,” and is simply an area in which blasts may be felt.

Lytton said during that meeting that any complaints or questions about the blasting should be directed to Borell at lauren.borell@dot.ohio.gov or (330) 308-7817.