Top Headlines

Detours Coming As Interstate 70 Bridge Work Resumes Monday in Wheeling

WHEELING -- Motorists from Ohio traveling across the Interstate 70 Fulton Bridge will have a tougher time getting through Wheeling -- and to places like Wheeling Hospital -- starting Monday.

Swank Construction crews return Monday from a month-long break to continue the $215 million project. That means I-70 eastbound will be closed from Exit 1B -- the U.S. 250/W.Va. Rt. 2-16th Street exit -- to Exit 2A -- the Oglebay Park exit. The U.S. 250 on-ramp to I-70 East also will be closed.

Those closures are scheduled to last about nine months, according to the West Virginia Division of Highways.

Motorists heading east on I-70 will need to find alternate routes to get to key places in Wheeling and Elm Grove, including Wheeling Hospital. Those motorists will need to use one of several detours to get to their destinations, depending on where they're coming from.

The DOH is advising that all through traffic heading to points east of Wheeling should use I-470. Local traffic is encouraged to use U.S. 40 East. Detour signs will be in place to help drivers navigate the changes.

DOH Area Engineer Mike Witherow said the eastbound local detour will look similar to last year's westbound detour when that side of I-70 was closed. The eastbound local detour will exit onto Main Street in downtown, turn left onto 10th Street, continue east on Market Street over top of the Wheeling Tunnel, on National Road over Wheeling Hill and through Fulton to Mount de Chantal Road.

Those driving from the south from places like Moundsville and Glen Dale and drivers from Bethlehem can bypass construction and get to the hospital by using I-470, exiting at Elm Grove, driving on National Road through Elm Grove and getting onto I-70 at the Park View Lane on-ramp.

Motorists will still be able to access U.S. 250/W.Va. 2 South traveling east on I-70 through the Wheeling Tunnel, but the section of I-70 beyond that point at the Fulton Bridges will be completely closed for approximately nine months, according to the DOH.

Witherow said in addition to Swank crews making preparations for the scheduled Monday closure, they have also begun working again in the numerous phase construction areas throughout the project in Ohio County. 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.

"They've got quite a few folks back and preparing for the closure and getting prepared to tackle a bunch of other segments of the project as well," Witherow explained.

Witherow said while the eastbound side of the Fulton Bridges section is scheduled to be completed and reopened by this fall, the overall project is scheduled to continue at various "phase construction" locations into the fall of 2022.

"The focal point of this project has been the closure of the Fulton Bridges ... so you get the sense it is a two-year project, when it's actually three," Witherow added. He said motorists traveling north on U.S. 250/W.Va. 2 near the Tunnel Green section of the city will still be able to access I-70 West and McColloch Street.

Also beginning Monday, a section of the Wheeling Heritage Trail from Rock Point Road to the Tunnel Green area will be closed to all pedestrians and bicyclists for approximately nine months as the demolition and construction of the eastbound Fulton Bridge spans take place. Signs are posted in the closure area.

The I-70 Bridges Project includes the rehabilitation of 26 bridges on I-70 in Ohio County over a nearly three-year construction schedule with the full replacement of the Fulton Bridge spans.

All the rehabilitation work includes building new decks or overlaying an existing deck and making any necessary steel or substructure repairs.

Motorists are advised to be alert for changing traffic patterns and to expect delays. Any questions or concerns regarding the I-70 Bridges Project can be directed to the DOH hotline at 304-810-3214. For additional information regarding the project, visit i70forward.com. Inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances could impact the project schedule.