CHARLESTON, WV – Construction is ramping up on a $224 million widening project on Interstate 64 between Nitro and the US 35 interchange at Scott Depot, that also includes major upgrades to the Nitro-St. Albans Bridge.
Contractors are currently working on new approach ramps for the bridge project and conducting site work to prepare for the bigger bridge job. Plans are to add a lane to the existing interstate bridge for eastbound traffic, then build a second bridge beside it to carry westbound traffic. The project also calls for widening Interstate 64 to six lanes and replacing several smaller bridges between Nitro and Scott Depot.
“We’re updating and upgrading our facilities to reduce traffic congestion and to increase safety on this very busy section of Interstate 64,” said DOH Deputy State Highway Engineer Ryland Musick. The bridge and widening project is part of a larger series of road projects under Gov. Jim Justice’s Roads to Prosperity highway program to improve traffic flow on Interstate 64 between Charleston and Huntington.
Motorists are beginning to see ramp and lane closures because of the construction work. Contractors say the St. Albans westbound exit ramp (Exit 44 westbound) were to be closed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 17, 2021.
Blasting was also scheduled beginning Monday, July 19, 2021, and continuing through the end of August. One blast per day is scheduled Monday through Friday between the hours of noon and 2 p.m., and will require rolling roadblocks on eastbound lanes of Interstate 64 between mile posts 40 and 47.2. St. Albans eastbound and westbound on ramps and the Nitro westbound on ramp will also be closed prior to each blast.
Trucks will also be crossing the St. Albans entrance and exit ramps from time to time during construction. Flaggers will be used to direct traffic.
Work on the bridges and widening project is expected to be complete in October 2023. The project is part of a much larger Interstate 64 improvement project funded through Roads to Prosperity.
A $61.6 million project to completely reconstruct Interstate 64 between Milton and the US 35 interchange was finished in November 2018.
Another piece of the puzzle, upgrading Interstate 64 to six lanes between the Barboursville exit and the 29th Street exit, is scheduled for completion in August 2024. The $103.8 million project also includes replacing several bridges.
“We’re continuing the widening on I-64 through the Huntington area to reduce congestion and improve safety,” Musick said.