WHEELING -- Orange barrels and heavy equipment have been common sights around the Friendly City in recent months, and additional road construction is ahead as more than $1 million worth street paving projects will soon be coming.
Next week, members of Wheeling City Council are expected to vote to approve an ordinance awarding a $1,079,722 contract to Cast and Baker of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, for the city's 2021 street resurfacing projects. While typically an annual activity that is welcomed by the public, the street paving work will be added to the list of projects that have already kept the city abuzz with construction.
With the state continuing major work on the Interstate 70 bridges project and the city finishing underground utility work in preparation of the Downtown Streetscape Project, city leaders urged motorists and affected business owners to continue exercising patience.
"I know I sound like a broken record on this, but there's a lot of construction going on in the city, and I know the frustration I hear from folks from time to time is real," Mayor Glenn Elliott said.
"Obviously, the I-70 work continues. We're working on the downtown waterline replacement on Market Street, and that's caused considerable disruption, especially for some downtown businesses. We've heard from them, and we're trying to do everything we can to minimize disruption and look at ways to maybe help some of those businesses out for the impact that their feeling. I know some folks feel that they've lost some retail activity because of that construction."
While much of the current construction has been along the main traffic arteries around Wheeling, work will soon expand into neighborhoods throughout the city once the annual street paving gets underway.
"It's actually almost a $1.1 million paving project," Elliott said. "A lot of important streets across the city are going to be paved. The biggest one is probably Washington Avenue, which I know needs it right now badly. So this is exciting to see."
City leaders indicated that the current construction blitz represents a multimillion-dollar investment that will be realized for its benefits once the work is completed and, overall, will lead to great improvements for the city in the near future.
"If we can get through this next period of one year to two years of construction, I really think the city is going to look better from top to bottom," Elliott said. "So I look forward to that."
According to the list attached to the street paving ordinance that is expected to be passed by council next week, streets slated for resurfacing as part of the city's 2021 paving schedule include:
Rock Point Road from Chester Lane to near the underpass, Pallister Road from Mount de Chantal Road to Mount View Road, Walnut Avenue from Bethany Pike to Woodlawn Lane, Woodlawn Lane from Poplar Avenue to Edgewood Street, Washington Avenue from the bridge to the Interstate 70 off ramp, Steenrod Avenue from Washington Avenue to Betty Street, Frances Avenue from Washington Avenue to Jefferson Avenue, Mills Street from Washington Avenue to Betty Street, Frissell Avenue from Washington Avenue to Jefferson Avenue, McClurg Avenue from Jefferson Avenue to Chestnut Street, Jefferson Avenue from Frissell Avenue to Frances Avenue, Betty Street from McClurg Avenue to Valley View Avenue, Diamond Avenue from Fort Henry Avenue to Mount de Chantal Road, Ruby Avenue from Flynn Avenue to Mount de Chantal Road, Point View Terrace from Fort Henry Avenue to the top of the hill, Fay Avenue from Fort Henry Avenue to Flynn Avenue, 335 feet of Fort Henry Avenue at the Diamond Avenue Intersection, 700 feet of Leatherwood Lane, East Cove Avenue from Mill Acres Drive to Ainswood Avenue, Ainswood Avenue and East Cove Drive to 100 feet past Brentwood Avenue, Teagan Drive from Mil Acres Drive to Ainswood Avenue, Monroe Avenue from Cracraft Avenue to Halstead Avenue, Cracraft Avenue from Monroe Avenue to Waddle Avenue, Thornburg Avenue from Cracraft Avenue to Atkinson Avenue, Forset Avenue from Monroe Avenue to Atkinson Avenue, Third Street from Main Street to Kenny Street, North 25th Street from Vance Avenue to Warwood Avenue, Erie Street from New Jersey Street to Cromwell Street, the Wheeling Island Marina parking lot, Peninsula Street from the Baker Street Bridge to Schenk Bridge, 17th Street from Eoff Street to Wood Street, 20th Street from Chapline Street to the parking lot, Jacob Street from 17th Street to Wheeling Creek, Wood Street from 17th Street to Wheeling Creek, 41st Street from Jacob Street to McColloch Street, Eoff Street from 43rd Street to 44th Street, Delaware Street from Erie Street to South Broadway Street, Hubbard Lane from National Road through the circles and 19th Street from Jacob Street to Wheeling Creek.
In addition to the street paving projects, the city is taking on several other major improvement projects in the coming months.
"The city manager advised me that we have $18 million out to bid right now," Elliott noted. Those projects include $8 million in planned water treatment improvements, another $4 million in sewer system improvements, and around $6 million for the creation of a new Wheeling Police headquarters in a building on the former Ohio Valley Medical Center campus, the mayor said.