Bridge may not open as planned
PARKERSBURG — The Blennerhassett bridge may not be completed in time to open by the end of November as originally planned, state highway officials said.
In a report recently presented to area officials titled “Status of Wood County Highway Projects,” the West Virginia Department of Transportation reported construction was nearing completion for the bridge over Blennerhassett Island that will complete the Appalachian Corridor D highway project.
‘‘For some time the completion and opening of the bridge has been targeted for the end of November 2007,’’ the report said. ‘‘Although construction has gone very well and the bridge may be fundamentally complete by that time, numerous final details remain and are subject to weather and other conditions.
‘‘A decision is expected to be made soon whether it would be feasible to stay with the November date and open the bridge in advance of final detail work.’’
The actual opening date is being deliberated at this time and should be announced in the near future, officials said.
‘‘An official opening ceremony is being planned consistent with the significance of this project, which represents Corridor D’s completion both statewide and regionally,’’ the report said.
Officials close to the project could not be reached for comment Friday.
Work began Sept. 25 on the slip repair along W.Va. 14 near Mineral Wells, said George Shinsky, construction engineer with the West Virginia Division of Highways.
The project was not mentioned in the WVDOT report.
In late 2006 the highway between Mineral Wells and Pettyville was closed after a landslide took out part of the southbound lanes. Uncertainity about the stability of the ground underneath caused the all four lanes of that section of road to be closed with traffic diverted along the highway’s former two-lane route.
A contact totaling $1,107,000 was awarded to Mountaineer Grading for the project.
Crews have begun earosion control measures, clearing out the site and doing a settlement pond, Shinsky said.
‘‘Any earth moving is still a week away,’’ he said.
Work is expected to go until just before Christmas and then start up again in the spring.
Shinsky said the highway should be repaired by the end of May 2008.
The WVDOT’s report also listed the status of a number of projects that are already underway or expected to get under way within the next few years.
Those included:
∫ A traffic operations and safety study on W.Va. 14 (Murdoch/Grand Central Avenue) from Emerson Avenue in Parkersburg to 28th Street in Vienna is in progress with completion scheduled for this December.
∫ Construction for the widening I-77 to six lanes, including two bridges over the Little Kanawha River, from 0.7 mile south of W.Va. 47 to the north end of the W.Va. 47 interchange bridge is scheduled to begin in November 2009. Construction for the replacement and widening of the I-77 Camden Avenue (W.Va. 95) interchange bridge deck to six lanes is scheduled to begin in April 2010.
∫ Construction to relocate and upgrade W.Va. 14 to four lanes from the northbound exit/entrance ramps of the I-77 interchange to 0.3 mile east of Wood County 14/1 is scheduled to begin in July 2010.
∫ Construction to upgrade W.Va. 14 to four lanes from 0.10 mile north of Wood County 21/34/ to 0.04 mile north of Wood County 21/15 is scheduled to begin in November 2010. The project will complete the four-laning of W.Va. 14 from the I-77 Mineral Wells Interchange to the Patriot Center in south Parkersburg.
Posted with permission from The Parkersburg News & Sentinel
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