PARKERSBURG, WV (September 15, 2004) –
Calling it “the most significant opening to date,”
officials announced today that the Division Street interchange
of Corridor D is set to open on Sept. 20.
“This is truly the most significant opening we’ve
had on the project to date,” said West Virginia Division
of Highways District Engineer Rusty Roten. “It is the quickest
and safest link into downtown Parkersburg.”
The 1.5-mile section will extend the completed portion of Corridor
D from its current terminus at Rt. 47/Staunton Ave. to Rt. 14/Division
Street. The new section crosses the Little Kanawha River and exits
onto Division Street just south of the Fifth Street Bridge. When
Corridor D is opened to Division Street, approximately one third
of the entire Corridor D project will be open to traffic.
“This will allow people to bypass Seventh Street and greatly
reduce their travel time into downtown Parkersburg,” Roten
added. “We believe that the traveling public will begin
to see the rather significant benefits to their transportation
system with the opening of the next section of Corridor D. Not
only will travel times be reduced, but the occurrence of traffic
accidents on Seventh Street, the downtown area, and other at other
locations should be reduced.”
Roten said the new section will also be a great benefit to travelers
visiting downtown-area tourist attractions such as Blennerhassett
Island.
Officials anticipate that most of the remainder of the Corridor
D project on the West Virginia side of the Ohio River will be
completed by Fall 2005. “The Corridor should be open to
DuPont Road by this time next year,” said Traffic Engineer
Tim Kirk. “The public has been very patient through all
of the disturbance and delays that construction activity has caused,
and we appreciate that very much. Now, they will be able to begin
using more of the new roadway and realize that other sections
will be open in the near future.”
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