CHARLESTON, WV – The second phase of construction to widen Interstate 64 to eight lanes between the Huntington Mall and Merritts Creek Road begins on the night of Monday, Oct. 4, 2021, as contractors put up barriers to shift westbound traffic.
Beginning at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 4, contractors will close the westbound fast lane between mile markers 18 and 20 to install temporary concrete barriers and put in new pavement markings. Sometime after 10 p.m. the fast lane will reopen, and the slow lane will be closed.
All westbound traffic will be shifted to the contraflow lane, or median, once the lanes are shifted. While work is going on, westbound exits 18 and 20 will be inaccessible, so westbound drivers will have to detour to either exit 15 or exit 28.
All work should be completed by 6 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5, by which time westbound drivers will again be able to use exit 18 and exit 20.
West Virginia Division of Highways District 2 Engineer Rob Pennington, P.E., said the work will start the second phase of widening I-64 to eight lanes between the Huntington Mall and Merritts Creek Road.
In Phase One, work was done to add two lanes in the median. Phase Two will involve work on the westbound lanes, while Phase Three will involve work on the eastbound lanes. The project is scheduled for completion in 2024.
Pennington said work to shift the lanes is being done at night to minimize the impact on drivers.