Interstate 70 Detour Begins Today in Wheeling
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WHEELING -- By mid-morning today, motorists heading east on Interstate 70 no longer will have a straight shot past town.
The eastbound section of the Fulton Bridge is scheduled to close between 9-10 a.m. today, according to West Virginia Division of Highway Officials. That way, drivers headed to work early today can get there before the section shuts down.
After that, though, drivers will need alternate routes, and the Wheeling Police Department will be monitoring traffic flow throughout the area. The closures are part of the second phase of the I-70 Bridges Project.
Beginning Monday, 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. In addition, the U.S. 250 on-ramp to I-70 East also will also be closed. Those closures are scheduled to last about nine months, according to DOH officials.
The DOH is advising 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. 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.
Wheeling Police Department Public Information Officer Phillip Stahl said the biggest areas of concern in regards to traffic flow along the local detour route are the traffic signal area near Exit 1A off the Fort Henry Bridge and the intersections at 10th and Main Street and 10th and Market Street.
"Those are going to be the three key intersections when it comes to traffic flow," Stahl explained. He said traffic seemed to flow fine along National Road and out in the Fulton area during the westbound local detour last year, so they don't anticipate any major problems out in that area.
In addition, Stahl is quick to point out that Exit 2A, the Oglebay Park/Mount de Chantal Road off-ramp, will be closed this time around alleviating some of the congestion in the area near Perkins Restaurant and Kroger.
"So we are just kind of shifting locations a little bit on what we are going to be watching," Stahl commented. He said as the Wheeling Police Department and DOH crews monitor traffic flow during the first few days following the closure, there will be a bit of a learning curve and they will make any needed adjustments with traffic signals.
"We are not going to figure everything out on day one. We are going to look at it probably Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday," Stahl said. "This is going to be a little bit different just because of where people are going to need to exit. There's not a lot of room on that (Exit 1A) ramp and if it would back up it's only a one-lane bridge right there on the Fort Henry Bridge. So that's going to be the key area to watch — is the Fort Henry Bridge and downtown exit area."
Stahl said motorists traveling through the detour should give themselves a little extra time to get to their destination -- especially during the first several days following the closure.
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.
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.
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.