Photo by Eric Ayres Interstate 70 Exit 1B in Wheeling – the first eastbound exit through the Wheeling Tunnels that connects motorists with U.S. 250, as well as the 16th Street exit in Wheeling and the southbound connector to W.Va. 2 – was recently closed because of structural concerns to the exit's bridge.

WHEELING – A structural concern on a recently rehabilitated bridge in Wheeling connecting Interstate 70 to U.S. 250 prompted state officials to close the span until it can be repaired.

Motorists regularly traveling in the Wheeling area have been inquiring why the busy exit ramp was suddenly closed to all traffic in recent weeks. On Thursday, a representative of the West Virginia Department of Transportation in Charleston confirmed that the exit was closed because of a structural issue on the bridge that will need to be fixed before it can be reopened to traffic.

“The ramp was closed March 23 after a crack was discovered in a supporting member,” said WVDOT Spokesman Rusty Marks. “The ramp will remain closed until the crack is repaired.”

Orange barrels and cones appeared at the exit late last month, along with “closed” banners that were placed across the exit signs above the eastbound lanes of I-70 as motorists cross the Ohio River on the Fort Henry Bridge and enter the Wheeling Tunnels.

The closed exit is located just east of the tunnel at I-70 Exit 1B, an off-ramp from the interstate that departs the highway to the left from the eastbound lanes. The exit takes motorists on a bridge that extends up and over McColloch Street below and over that same stretch of I-70, connecting with U.S. 250 and giving motorists access to the 16th Street exit in East Wheeling and connecting with W.Va. Route 2 southbound toward Benwood, McMechen, Glen Dale and Moundsville.

Exit 1B’s span at the interchange with U.S. 250 was among 26 highway bridges recently rehabilitated as part of the state’s massive I-70 Bridges Project, the largest of former W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice’s Roads to Prosperity initiative. Construction on the I-70 Bridges Project was completed in phases between 2019 and 2022 at an estimated final completion cost of around $221 million.

“The ramp was part of the Roads to Prosperity project,” Marks noted.

Officials indicated that the ramp will remain closed for the foreseeable future until work is completed to repair the crack and inspections deep the span safe to carry traffic again. The state has not released a timeline for the needed repair and future reopening, but state officials are working on resolving the issue, according to Marks.

“The repair is currently being planned,” he said.