Photo by Eric Ayres Crews from Triton Construction of St. Albans, W.Va., continue to work on the West Virginia Department of Transportation's $38 million Downtown Streetscape Project in Wheeling. Paving of the last sections of the ongoing project is expected to begin next week.

WHEELING – Paving of the remaining sections of the Wheeling Downtown Streetscape Project is slated to begin next week, as the construction phase of the project continues to wind down.

The West Virginia Department of Transportation is expected to finish the Streetscape project this year, with “streetscaping” work to install new curbs, sidewalks, bioswales and intersections remaining along the project’s southeastern perimeter. This includes sections of 16th, Eoff and Chapline streets near the W.Va. 2 and U.S. 250 interchange.

Work on the primary downtown traffic arteries of Main and Market streets was completed over the past two years as part of the project, which began its construction phase back in October 2022.

This week, Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron provided an update on the state’s ongoing work on the job.

“The Streetscape project is winding down, and a significant milestone is approaching – that is the resurfacing of 16th Street and then Eoff and Chapline to and from Route 2 and Route 250,” Herron said. “It is scheduled to begin on May 11.”

Teams of crews from Triton Construction of St. Albans, W.Va., the state’s general contractor for the Downtown Streetscape Project, continued work on sidewalks and planters this week along the unfinished portions of the renovation.

Herron noted that the effort to pave the remaining sections of the Streetscape will include removing the current road surfaces and putting down new pavement for a complete resurfacing.

“They will grind the road up and resurface it – similar to what the DOH did on Market and Main streets,” he said. “So we’re looking forward to that.”

Completion dates for the Streetscape project have been pushed back several times over the past couple of years. The original completion date had been eyed for November 2024, but various delays caused the project to extend for months and months longer. Lingering work along 16th, Eoff and Chapline streets last year ended up pushing the project into 2026.

Initial concepts of the Streetscape project began over a decade ago with early plans for sidewalk improvements estimated to cost around $3.8 million and paving originally valued at about $4 million. The cost and the overall scope of the project grew exponentially over the past decade.

Nearly four years ago, Triton secured the general contract for the Streetscape work with a bid of $31.9 million, but the cost has grown significantly since then. The latest cost for the Wheeling Downtown Streetscape Project, as listed by the West Virginia Department of Transportation, currently sits at $38,267,340.76.

Other paving projects in downtown Wheeling are also expected to begin in the coming days, as well. According to the city manager, resurfacing work contracted by the city is also scheduled to unfold on the other end of town this month.

As part of the construction of the new Market Street Parking Garage, paving of the section of 11th Street near the new parking structure’s main entrance is still left to be completed. During the parking garage’s construction, crews utilized this section of 11th Street as a staging area for construction materials and heavy equipment.

“That resurfacing will begin sometime in mid-May and will coincide with the major resurfacing project on Grandview in East Wheeling, so we’re looking forward to getting that done as well,” Herron said.

In March, Wheeling City Council approved a contract with Cast and Baker of Canonsburg, Pa., for the street reconstruction project for Grandview Street and a portion of 12th Street. The city is using a leftover pool of Community Development Block Grant funds to complete this work, which officials said is much needed because Grandview Street in particular is in “bad shape.”

Cast and Baker was deemed the lowest and best bidder for this project and was awarded a contract in the amount of $201,456 for the work.