CHARLESTON, WV – On Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, West Virginia Division of Highways debuted a new entrance ramp for southbound traffic onto US 35 just southwest of the Buffalo Bridge. The new traffic pattern connects the current two-lane section of US 35 with the existing section of completed four-lane.
The new entrance ramp, which passes underneath two new bridges built for the soon-to-open final 15-mile stretch of four-lane, opened to traffic at about 10:30 a.m.
“We drove it this morning,” said District 1 Area Engineer Ryan Canfield, who is overseeing the project. “We got there when there was a good line of traffic, and it only took a minute or two to get back onto the four-lane. It’s flowing really well.”
The final 15-mile section of four-lane between the Buffalo Bridge in Putnam County and Beech Hill in Mason County is expected to open to traffic later this fall. Once complete, drivers will be able to drive on four-lane from where US 35 starts off Interstate 64 near Teays Valley, all the way to the Ohio state line.
Upgrading US 35 to four lanes has been a goal for WVDOH since the 1980s. The four-lane upgrade significantly increases safety for drivers.
Contractors have completed the final layer of asphalt on the two new southbound lanes on the final 15-mile stretch, and are about halfway done putting down the final layer of asphalt northbound. Contractors are also putting up guardrail, installing permanent road signs and doing other detail work on the project.
The new traffic pattern near the Buffalo Bridge will be in place for 60 to 90 days while contractors complete the northern tie-in to the new four-lane section of US 35, about five miles south of Henderson in Mason County.
|
|