CHARLESTON, W.Va. — All lanes of traffic on the busy Eugene A. Carter Memorial Bridge that takes Interstate 64 over the Kanawha River in Charleston reopened Friday morning after contractors completed work on a new protective membrane.
Memorial Bridge in July. (Photo/DOH)
The state’s most heavily-traveled bridge was the site of two major backups this summer when large potholes formed on the bridge deck. The state Division of Highways put a plan in place to do extensive repairs to the bridge deck and then cover it with the membrane and fresh asphalt.
The DOH said Friday there may be a few lane restrictions this weekend on the bridge to finish up some smaller items.
The work has taken place at night most of the time but the work moved to daylight hours this week which caused major delays for eastbound motorists.
“The Fort Hill Bridge(Carter Bridge) is the most heavily traveled bridge in the state,” DOH State Bridge Engineer Tracy Brown said. “It’s also the most difficult bridge we have to work on because of that traffic.”
The DOH has its fingers crossed that the repairs will last until the entire bridge deck can be replaced in a year or two.
“This is not a permanent fix,” said state Transportation Secretary Todd Rumbaugh. “Our hope is this membrane will extend the life of the bridge deck through the winter, preventing lane closures and additional deck repairs.”
The state paid Triton Construction $6.7 million for the work that’s includes a special high-traction asphalt.