The West Virginia Division of Highways hopes to ease the flow of traffic onto Interstate 70 by reducing Interstate 470 traffic to one lane.

WVDOH area engineer Gus Suwaid said westbound I-470 is reduced to two lanes from W.Va. 2 to the crest of the hill at Bethlehem and then to one lane from the top of the hill to Elm Grove, where traffic merges with I-70.

"We do not want two lanes of I-470 traffic merging onto one lane of I-70," he said. "Our goal was to achieve one lane from the crest of the hill at Bethlehem down to exit 5. "

Suwaid cited the truck lane going up the hill as a factor in the decision to start lane reduction back at W.Va. 2.

"There are three lanes going up the hill, and we had to pick a point to narrow down to two lanes and then to one," he said.

Suwaid said work on approach slabs at the bridge near exit 5 of eastbound I-70 will be done in three phases over a one-month period.

"In phase one we will Roto-Mill the right lane shoulder so we can stabilize it and make it stronger," he said. "During the next phase, traffic will be moved onto part of the shoulder while we work on the left lane.

"In phase two, we will close the left lane and half of the middle lane and, in phase three, will reverse the procedure and close the right lane and half of the middle lane."

Suwaid said the scope of the work - being done by general contractor Kelly Paving of Rayland - includes excavating and repaving about 200 feet of roadway on either side of the bridge.

"This is work that should be done every few years," he said. "Over time, the slabs begin to delaminate as traffic moves from a paved solid surface onto a bridge surface."

The work is part of a $3.6 million package included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, designed to stimulate local economies. WVDOH is replacing approach slabs on each end of eight bridges at four locations along Interstate 70, east of Wheeling in Ohio County.

Targeted areas include the bridge near exit 5 in Elm Grove, the bridge spanning Middle Creek near the Middle Creek Garage in Triadelphia, a bridge at Dallas Pike exit 11 over Stoolfire Road.