CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Interstate 64 preservation project through Charleston is entering its fourth and final phase, the state Division of Highways announced Friday.
That last phase is a simple moving of the westbound construction zone near the Eugene A. Carter Memorial Bridge to the right, according to DOH spokesperson Carrie Bly.
“It’s just the shifted the work zone to the right hand lanes and now the traffic is driving on the repaired bridge deck,” Bly said.
The project, which began last spring, has included the shifting of traffic lanes on the busiest stretch of interstate in the state. There’s also been a contraflow lane for thru traffic, which at times has been problematic. On at least three occasions oversized trucks have gotten stuck.
The goal is to have most, if not all, of the project completed by the Thanksgiving travel season, Bly said.
“We certainly don’t want to have that during that increased traffic or when it starts to snow. We have concerns about having a contraflow lane with snow and ice in there,” she said.
The busy Oakwood Road entrance ramp, which carries traffic from U.S. routes 119 and 60 to Interstate 64 will remain closed through the completion of the project, Bly said.
“Because (now) we have traffic shifted over there and if we had cars coming on the Oakwood ramp there it would be a mess. We realize it’s a big inconvenience for a lot of people but we are working hard to get it out of there,” she said.
The preservation project includes replacing concrete on the raised sections of I-64 through Charleston along with putting in new expansion joints for the first time since the stretch of interstate was built in the 1970s.