Tunnel Removal Idea Dropped

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WHEELING - The idea of cutting through the hillside above the Wheeling Tunnel and eliminating the tubes has been abandoned by the West Virginia Division of Highways, according to Delegate Orphy Klempa.

The decision comes just as work is set to resume on the Wheeling Tunnel on Wednesday.

Klempa, D-Ohio, requested earlier this year that the DOH perform a feasibility study to determine whether it would be more cost-effective to eliminate the tunnel entirely and add additional lanes than to spend millions of dollars rehabilitating the tubes. The DOH agreed in February to do the study.

But Tuesday, the agency announced that work would begin again on the tunnel. The decision to go ahead with the needed work indicates the state doesn't wish to take on a costly tunnel removal project, according to Klempa.

"They have decided to do the renovations and not the open cut," he said. "It is just too expensive a project at the present time, considering the financial health of the state. People are buying less gas, and less money is going into the highway coffers.

"It's a timing thing. It's the wrong time to do a project of that magnitude in the state of West Virginia," Klempa added. "The lack of dollars for roads doesn't make that project make sense, so they abandoned it."

Klempa, though, stands by his belief that eliminating the tubes is something that should be considered.

"I still think it's a good idea," he said. "In the long run, it will cost millions to keep the tunnel opened and maintained.

"There's also the safety issue," he continued. "This is the only spot in the nation where a major, four-lane highway goes down to one lane on each side. Hopefully, we can get that addressed in some manner. If someone is in the wrong lane, we don't want them to have to switch lanes in the tunnel."

The eastbound tube of the Wheeling Tunnel will close Wednesday, according to an employee for the project contractor, the Velotta Co.

Robert Jackson, job superintendent for Velotta of Sharon Center, Ohio, said Wednesday that the first work on the tunnel will be to remove the existing overspray on the tiles. After this, subcontractors will come in to do the needed work.

In the interim, detour signs are being placed along Interstate 70 and I-470 to alert motorists of the upcoming detour.

Member Comments

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rockdrummer
07-18-08 10:09 PM »Report Abuse	feedup101, I agree that the problem is the dumb drivers. Especially the ones that block traffic for miles by riding side-by-side because there is a construction zone 6 miles away. When the sign says "use both lanes to the merge point" that is what drivers should do. As far as driving through Wheeling vs. driving around Wheeling on I-470, I don't see why you'd want to put yourself in that hazard of driving on I-70. One lane, dumb drivers that don't know how to use an exit ramp properly, slow speed limits. Why bother? Go around. Doesn't matter anyway. They are closing the tunnels next week!
Quasar
07-18-08 1:26 PM »Report Abuse	P I S S off a trucker, get in front of him and go 55 from Elm Grove to the Ohio state line. (That is the speep limit) Also do it to the SUVs.
steelercrazy
07-18-08 9:13 AM »Report Abuse	ktbass, your solution is right on. And as a FYI, I-470 is .2 miles shorter than its I-70 counterpart from Elm Grove to where they meet again near the OV Mall.
E2Driver
07-18-08 8:57 AM »Report Abuse	I have seen many a car and TRUCK doing WAY over 45 when you are trying to merge from route 2 to I-70 west. It aint just the 4wheelers causing the trouble. Both of my jobs are as a professional driver. Courtesy needs to be excercised way more by all parties. Once again, STRONG enforcement is the answer. And not by Wheeling police, but by the State Troopers, before anyone points a finger at our police.
ktbass
07-18-08 7:59 AM »Report Abuse	That is one of the worst places to put an off ramp. (Rt2 south,out of the tunnel)
whisperinghope
07-18-08 7:55 AM »Report Abuse	When I visit Wheeling, which isn't so often these days, I avoid the tunnels. I do the speed limit and truckers are passing me!! I do a lot of traveling and since when does a trucker do the speed limit? Perhaps now that gas is so expensive, but I doubt it, nothing against truckers, but one comment here just needs to be addressed. On and off ramps to the bridge are too short, and ppl who don't know where they are going change lanes to get to route 2S if I am remembering correctly.
CTMountaineer
07-18-08 6:41 AM »Report Abuse	I470 was built for two reasons: 1. To give the Department of Defense an alternative route over which to move military equipment in the event of the destruction of the Fort Henry Bridge, and 2. To alleviate congestion when Wheeling actually had enough people to have some sort of traffic problem (before the brain trust that has run the town for the past 40 years had a chance to destroy it).
feedup101
07-18-08 3:43 AM »Report Abuse	As a Truck driver I have use both ways to travel through Wheeling. I-470 adds 3 minutes to get to the split on the I-70 portion, not a real big deal if you ask me. Wowandflutter is correct on the ignorant , impatient , and dumb drivers that are out there that don't want to be behind a big truck. Why don't some of you show some intelligence. Do the 45 mph posted speed limit and things wouldn't be so bad on the bridge. When you are merging onto 70 do what the sign says , YIELD!!! Dumb drivers are the cause of all the problems on that stretch of highway, not the tunnels. Lets support the DOH in getting this project finished so you retards can find something else to ***** about.
rockdrummer
07-18-08 1:33 AM »Report Abuse	wowandflutter, you are wrong. Using both lanes until the merge point utilizes the most highway possible until the merge point. Engineers have studied this endlessly and have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the best way to use the highway. Get A GRIP/.
wowandflutter
07-17-08 11:38 PM »Report Abuse	okay, just gotta add my three cents. Rockdrummer you seem to be like most non-professional drivers and make up your own rules because you don't know the real ones. A by-pass is simply that, a way to go around a busy, jammed up stretch of interstate, like say I-270 around colombus, rather than plowing straight through on I-70. The problem is that ,by nature, a by-pass adds miles, and if your buying the fuel and driving a five mile per gallon big truck you will take the shortest route.There is NO LAW,implied or real that "trucks" must use a by-pass, other than haz-mat loads, where did you get that? As for the big rigs blocking both lanes when the road is reducing to one lane, think about it. If we all showed some common courtesy and did not jam both lanes while trying to force our way to the front of the pack what would we have? Traffic actually moving rather than sitting at a standstill while inconsiderate idiots insist on being first. You should consider public transportatio
ktbass
07-17-08 11:01 PM »Report Abuse	Am I missing something? I know, I am just that dumb!!!
ktbass
07-17-08 11:01 PM »Report Abuse	I hate to ask this. What the h*** would it accomplish to name it I-870?
CTMountaineer
07-17-08 10:42 PM »Report Abuse	Keeping the tunnel avoids permanent damage to the hill. Once it is removed, it would be an eyesore forever. Fix the thing right and that is the end of it. You don't see Pittsburgh chopping their hills in half.
Katabatic
07-17-08 7:18 PM »Report Abuse	Uncommon.........nice job ! lol lol
UNCOMMONSENSE
07-17-08 6:50 PM »Report Abuse	West Virginia's own "Department of Underground Highways." D U H for short!
Blackrock
07-17-08 3:24 PM »Report Abuse	IF the money was available, the best solution for Wheeling would be to eliminate the tunnels, redo the interchanges on both sides, replace the bridge with a six lane structure, and make this area attractive to the immense amount of traffic that passes thru. As it stands, even with the tiles fixed, it is a death trap eyesore.
E2Driver
07-17-08 2:04 PM »Report Abuse	wv26003...Why change anything...Even low traffic will require the tunnel be repaired.
wv26003
07-17-08 1:44 PM »Report Abuse	Why not call it I-870? Downtown Pittsburgh has two 3-digit interstates (I-279 and I-376) Downtown Youngstown is only serviced by a 3-digit interstate (I-680). It is the CHEAPEST solution.
GETACLUE
07-17-08 1:00 PM »Report Abuse	Throwing good money after bad, in my opinion. The tunnel should just be removed and the entire interchange be widened and made safer. Any repairs done will at best just be cosmetic. The problems will still be there, just the cost of doing the removal at a later date will be astronomically more.
Katabatic
07-17-08 11:44 AM »Report Abuse	wv26003, sounds great to me. Gtwin,The same people who decided to have Veloota involved in the first place and then after they failed, to have them back at more expense to fix the problem
Georgetwin
07-17-08 10:27 AM »Report Abuse	I guess Velotta/WVDOH decided Krazy Glue was cheaper than shovels ;)!
rockdrummer
07-17-08 10:04 AM »Report Abuse	Thanks Wheeling Island, but the point of the bypass is to allow the trucks to bypass Wheeling, relieving the traffic in the tunnels and the ONE LANE that is available. It may not be a LAW that the trucks must use I-470, but they are supposed to use it. However, just like when you see two trucks blocking all the traffic 2 miles in advance of a one-lane reduction for construction, truckers THINK they know better, and just f up the whole process. And, just for the record, you don't know what I do for a living. I pay an enormous amount of taxes. The problem was never that the tiles wouldn't stick. The problem is that the concrete adhesive wouldn't stick. And the Velotta owned concrete company is now not allowed to work on the tunnels.
wheelingisland
07-17-08 9:36 AM »Report Abuse	Only Hazmat loads HAVE to go on I470.. They aren't allowed in the tunnel...
wheelingisland
07-17-08 9:34 AM »Report Abuse	rockdrummer? You are misinformed. Trucks don't have to take 470 over the hill. They are allowed on I70 just like everyone else. They pay more taxes in a year than you will pay in your lifetime so that gives them the right to drive on all interstates.
E2Driver
07-17-08 9:28 AM »Report Abuse	rockdrummer...The new tiles that were put on before the shutdown are sticking. That problem has been corrected and I think it will be fine this time around. I will eat my words if I am wrong.

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