Community

Wheeling Motorists Can Expect Delays on McColloch Street/Pennsula Off-Ramp

WHEELING — Motorists traveling the McColloch Street/Peninsula off-ramp from W.Va. 2 North may have experienced slight delays over the past couple of days as Swank Construction crews continue removing sections of concrete deck above the roadway as part of the ongoing I-70 Bridge Project in Ohio County.

Crews began removing sections of bridge deck on I-70 East just east of the Wheeling Tunnel over two weeks ago, when the second phase of the bridges project restarted following a nearly month-long break. Motorists were moved to one lane of alternating traffic and stopped for short intervals by flaggers on the off-ramp as demolition crews removed concrete from the overhead highway.

Pieces of concrete that manage to fall from the edges of the above attached steel sheet platforms have been quickly cleared from the off-ramp by a front loader before motorists are permitted to drive past the work zone.

West Virginia Division of Highways Area Engineer Mike Witherow said the steel sheet platforms that have been installed below the highway for painting procedures throughout different areas of the bridges project actually provide multiple uses. In addition to assisting workers during painting procedures, the steel sheets also provide an extra layer of safety.

"As part of the contract, we specified that the platforms over the roadways have a greater capacity to provide that extra layer of safety," Witherow explained.

Witherow expects intermittent traffic delays in that area again once crews ecrews reach the section of I-70 that extends above the I-70 West on-ramp from W.Va. 2 North in the coming weeks.

Swank Construction is also removing concrete decking from the Fulton Bridge on I-70 East near Exit 2A, the Mount de Chantal Road exit.

The nearly three-year highway project is entering its "second phase" following the nine-month closure and reopening of the westbound Fulton Bridges section of the highway in 2020.