Photo courtesy of WVDOH
In addition to widening work on I-64, the project also called for the construction of five new bridges, new entrance and exit ramps, and the construction of the Nitro WWI Memorial Bridge, which opened in October 2022 just north of the old Donald M. Legg bridge to carry westbound traffic.
Three major long-term highway projects undertaken by the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) are nearing completion later this year or in early 2025 with the promise to improve safety and driving conditions for decades to come, the agency announced May 7.
Work is now in its last year on the new Donald M. Legg Memorial Bridge along Interstate 64, a critical milestone of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice's $2.8 billion Roads to Prosperity construction and maintenance program.
The span crosses the Kanawha River between the Nitro and St. Albans exits and is part of an approximately $225 million effort to upgrade I-64 to six lanes between Nitro and the U.S. Highway 35 exit.
In addition to widening work on I-64, the project also called for the construction of five new bridges, new entrance and exit ramps, and the construction of the Nitro WWI Memorial Bridge, which opened in October 2022 just north of the old Donald M. Legg bridge to carry westbound traffic.
The older structure was rebuilt using a portion of the existing piers to carry traffic east, according to WVDOH. Each bridge will be four lanes wide to allow motorists traveling between the Nitro and St. Albans exits to drive without having to merge into through traffic.
Although the new bridge is complete, paving, signage and lighting must still be installed.
Work also is progressing to build vehicle entrance ramps and a new bridge for I-64 over W. Va. Highway 25.
Widening efforts on I-64 also are nearing their end, with an expected finish late this year or in the spring of 2025.
By completing the two bridges and widening I-64 to six lanes, a major traffic bottleneck will be opened on one of the most heavily travelled sections of interstate in West Virginia. The old Donald M. Legg Memorial Bridge carried approximately 60,000 vehicles a day.
More I-64 Expansions to Increase Safety, Aid in Congestion
WVDOH, part of the state's Department of Transportation (WVDOT) also noted that two other widening efforts on I-64 are nearing completion as part of the Roads to Prosperity program:
- Between the cities of Barboursville and Huntington, road crews are in the final phase of expanding the freeway to eight lanes between East Mall Road in Barboursville and the Merritt's Creek interchange. Demolition work and construction also is under way on five bridges along that stretch of I-64. The project's total cost is $179 million.
- Another roadway expansion on I-64 will add six lanes from Merritt's Creek to the 29th Street exit at Huntington. At the heart of the project is construction of the 1,224-ft.-long Guyandotte River Bridge, where contractors began erecting steel on the new span at the end of April.
Both widening projects are projected to wrap up by the spring of 2025, according to WVDOH.
Combined with the road expansions already done, the projects on I-64 from Nitro to U.S. 35 and around Barboursville will increase safety and ease congestion along some of the most heavily traveled sections of the interstate.
Hazardous Curves to Be Avoided by New Bypass
To the northeast in Roane County, construction will likely finish on the Scott Miller Hill Bypass along U.S. 33. The approximately $44 million project between the communities of Spencer and Ripley runs from Tuckers Run to Middle Fork and bypasses a section of U.S. 33 that has numerous dangerous curves.
WVDOH is confident that the new, 4.3-mi. bypass, about 40 years in the making, will improve driver safety and aid commercial traffic. In fact, one of the new roadway's objectives is to improve access and promote business growth in Roane County and the town of Spencer.
A major bridge along the route is complete except for the placement of parapets, the highway department said, while contractors continue to lay asphalt along the highway. Once that work is finished, the eastern and western ends of the project will need to be tied into the existing U.S. 33 footprint.
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