Photo by Scott McCloskey Crews with GeoStabilization International perform ground stabilization work along U.S. 250 near Fork Ridge Road in Marshall County this week as part of the early phases of a West Virginia Division of Highways slip repair project.

CAMERON — As repairs have begun on approximately a half-dozen road slips along a 5-mile stretch of U.S. 250 between Pleasant Valley and Bane Lane near Cameron, the West Virginia Division of Highways is warning motorists to expect up to 20-minute delays in that area over the coming weeks.

Multiple lane closures will occur from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily along that stretch of highway through the end of October, as road slip repairs are scheduled to take place followed by paving work, according to DOH District 6 Engineer Tony Clark.

Two-way traffic will be maintained in one lane as temporary traffic signals have been set-up at each slip repair location.

“Most of those (slips) have been there for quite awhile and they continue to move,” Clark explained.

“We’ve finally got everything lined up to repair (the slips). … That stretch there is part of the Medical Access Roads Program (MARP) funded by funds from the CARES Act. So we are going to repair all of those slips in that area from Bane Lane to Pleasant Valley … and then pave that stretch. The paving will come in right on the heels of the slip repairs.”

Clark said the DOH will be using just over $1.5 million in funds from the MARP program to put toward the roadwork, with additional funding from the DOH being applied toward additional slips while they are working in that area.

“So we would like to be in and out of there and have that stretch be repaired from beginning to end,” he added.

Clark said motorists can expect longer delays after Sept.15 because “heavy utility” work is coordinated to take place at the same time as the road project. He said there is a fairly “tight window” of time the utility companies will be able to perform that specific work.

“So they’re actually going to bring two drilling rigs in and work simultaneously and it’s going to be a juggle trying to get traffic through and still get that drilling work done on those slips,” Clark said. “Those drilling rigs are so large, and it’s hard to get them set up to where you can maintain traffic,” he added. He said DOH crews are currently filling in ditches along the road side in areas where they will need to widen the roadway near slip repairs to accommodate traffic flow around the construction activity.

Clark said signs have been positioned on U.S. 250 to alert motorists to the expected longer wait times over the coming weeks.

“Especially in the next several weeks, we’ll have multiple crews out there doing slip repairs. … It’s a massive project for what it is,” he added.

He said the DOH will be using a few private contractors to provide specific support services for the project, including the paving.

In addition to the larger project, DOH crews have also been making pothole and other “standard” road repairs to U.S. 250 in other locations closer to Limestone and Moundsville over the past few weeks.

Inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances could change the project schedule, DOH officials said.