On Thursday, West Virginia’s Interstate 64 widening project reached a major milestone according to a press release from the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH).
The release said that one lane of traffic opened on the new Donald M. Legg Memorial Bridge, which was recently built to replace its 60-year-old counterpart by the same name.
The bridge is part of an approximately $225 million project to widen I-64 to six lanes between Nitro and the U.S. 35 exit.
The project is almost complete and is expected to finish in the fall. It is one of the largest construction projects undertaken under Gov. Jim Justice’s $2.8 billion Roads to Prosperity construction and maintenance program.
The project will greatly reduce congestion at a major bottleneck on one of the most heavily traveled sections of highway in the Mountain State. The original two-lane Donald Legg Bridge carried an average of 60,000 vehicles a day.
The project also includes the replacement of “I-64 bridges that cross Conrail railroad tracks, Rocky Step Road, McCloud Road and Bills Creek Road, plus revamping the St. Albans interchange and the ramps connecting the interchange to WV 817,” the release said.
“It’s exciting to see projects like this near completion so that people can see how the governor’s and the WVDOH’s vision for what the state’s transportation network can be when we have the proper funding,” said Joe Pack, P.E., WVDOH Chief Engineer of Operations.
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Source: WOWKTV.com, WVDOH
