Update 2 p.m. Wednesday The state Division of Highways says the fast lane to open at around 3 p.m. Steel plate will be put over the pothole in the middle lane. Crews will return Wednesday night to finish the job. Middle lane will still be closed during morning rush hour Thursday as concrete cures. The eastbound fast lane will remain closed to allow continued access to the boom truck.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It’s happened again on Interstate 64 in Charleston.
A large three-by-three-foot hole developed in the Interstate 64 westbound center lane of the Eugene A. Carter Bridge Wednesday morning closing two of the three traffic lanes.
It’s the second time this month the DOH has had to do emergency repairs on the bridge. The first time traffic backed up nearly 15 miles coming into Charleston.
The eastbound fast line will also be closed for several hours to allow a boom truck to reach the bottom side of the bridge.
The DOH hopes to get the new hole repaired faster than last time. The agency said it will use quick-curing concrete. It hopes to have one of the closed lanes westbound, the westbound fast lane and the eastbound fast lane reopened by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
The Carter Bridge is the most heavily-traveled bridge in the state.
According to the DOH, it has adopted a three-phase plan to address the aging concrete deck.
“Crews are currently doing preventative patching to address areas of the bridge they think may cause problems in the near future. By fall, the WVDOH hopes to bid out a project for more extensive patching, followed by an asphalt overlay across the bridge. The bridge is scheduled to have the deck replaced in 2027,” a DOH release said.