WHEELING - The next phase of the Washington Avenue Bridge project got under way Wednesday as crews worked through the night to set five steel girders for a new overpass.
Westbound traffic was slowed as police rerouted vehicles off Interstate 70 at the Washington Avenue exit and back onto the highway via the nearby on-ramp.
That exit is a major artery for traffic heading to Wheeling Hospital from the east. Further delays may be in the offing as work continues, but hospital spokesman Gregg Warren said he doesn't expect accessibility to the facility to be a problem in the coming months.
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Westbound lanes of Interstate 70 were closed Wednesday night as Ohio-West Virginia Excavating Co. resumed work on the Washington Avenue Bridge project. Crews installed a second set of steel girders for a new overpass that should be open to limited traffic by the fall.
"We have a system in place with the state and county that's been worked out with the contractor," said Warren, noting special radios will be used to inform workers of emergency traffic. "When an ambulance approaches, lanes will be made accessible."
Once completed, the new bridge will have five lanes of traffic - two lanes in each direction with a turning lane in the middle. Warren said he believes the new bridge will be an assett for the hospital.
"There will be less traffic during peak times of the day," he said, adding traffic leaving the hospital tends to get a bit congested at the end of a shift. "It will speed things up and make the intersection less confusing."
According to project supervisor Mark Roberts, the majority of construction was completed Wednesday night.
West Virginia Division of Highways Area Engineer Bob Langen said Ohio-West Virginia Excavating Co. crews from Powhatan Point will return to the site today to continue work, but either one or two lanes of traffic on I-70 west will be maintained depending on conditions.
Once enough of the new bridge is complete and temporary ramps are built, the old bridge will close and the new overpass will be open to one lane of traffic on each side. At that time the existing bridge will be demolished, which Langen said should happen sometime this fall.
Roberts noted the same detour that was used Wednesday night likely would be used again when I-70 west is closed to tear down the overpass. Warren is confident that ongoing open dialogue between the hospital and Ohio-West Virginia Excavating Co. will be sufficient to keep traffic flowing to and from Wheeling Hospital.
"So far, the process has been moving smoothly," he said. "We believe the existing plan will ensure that the hospital will remain accessible to the public."
The WVDOH expects the $5.8 million Washington Avenue project , which began in February, to be complete by September 2009. In addition to construction of the overpass, the intersections at both ends of the bridge will be upgraded by replacing stop signs with signal lights in order "to facilitate better traffic flow."