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WHEELING -- The sidewalk demolition and reconstruction associated with the $32 million Downtown Streetscape Project in Wheeling has come with some significant disruptions, but the major sewer separation and storm sewer system installation work being performed on Market Street seems to be having the biggest impact on downtown commerce.
And now state officials are saying the overall project's finish will be pushed to months later than originally planned.
Following a recent outcry about the frustrating situation from impacted downtown business owners, officials from the State of West Virginia Department of Transportation on Wednesday provided a public update on the progress being made on the Streetscape project, confirming that the current projected completion date will be the summer of 2025. Originally when Gov. Jim Justice came to town for the groundbreaking on the Streetscape project, the completion date was November of 2024.
"Closures of portions of Market Street are necessary to install the proposed drainage due to the size, depth and location of the drainage structures," the WVDOT update stated. "The contractor has completed the drainage work along Market Street from 16th to 14th street, as well as the majority of drainage structures between 14th and 12th streets."
Officials indicated that a snag with an underground boring and utility conflicts experienced at the corner of Market and 12th streets have delayed the completion of work in the block to the south of that intersection. Engineers with the state, the city, the contractor and other teams have been working to help resolve the issue.
Officials in the city of Wheeling this week announced details of a proposal to help nearly two dozen small businesses that are being negatively affected by the inconveniences associated with the massive state project. Sprawling construction zones have in many cases led to a lack of parking, some long-term road closures and other impediments from the ongoing work that have contributed to much slower business from retail stores amongst the orange barrels.
The outcry reached a boiling point last week after a second block of Market Street between 11th and 12th streets was closed through February, while the block of Market Street between 12th and 14th streets - which has been closed for months - also remains closed. Both blocks were closed to vehicular traffic as crews from the project's general contractor Triton Construction of St. Albans continue to install the new storm sewer system.
"We've said from the beginning that this is a very difficult project," Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said. "Streetscapes are hard. They limit access to businesses just by their nature with the sidewalks and curbs, etc. But this is even more difficult because of the storm sewer on Market Street."
Wheeling's old sewer system was originally a combined system, with storm water pipes directing water into the sanitary sewer system. This leads to great volumes of rain water being carried into the city's wastewater treatment plant. During heavy rains, original overflows in the combined system often caused environmental concerns with raw sewage being discharged and ending up in waterways.
The city has invested millions in recent years to separate combined stormwater and sanitary sewer systems throughout Wheeling's neighborhoods as part of its long-term wastewater management plan. This environmentally compliant practice is a major part of the Downtown Streetscape Project, which is installing a major storm water pipe from its discharge point into Wheeling Creek just west of the Main Street bridge, up 16th Street and turning up along Market Street. It will eventually stretch all the way to the area of 10th Street.
"If you've been down Market Street or walked down Market Street, you'll see that's a very, very large pipe in a very confined space," Herron said. "That has caused even greater problems, I think, than the sidewalks have as part of the Streetscape on Main Street."
The Streetscape project is being implemented by the state, as Main and Market streets are part of W.Va. Route 2 is the jurisdiction of the West Virginia Department of Transportation. Before the Streetscape work began, however, the city of Wheeling completed the sewer separation work on Main Street.
"The benefit to that is that The Health Plan would not have been built had the city not constructed a storm sewer on Main Street, because under federal regulations, there are stormwater management requirements that you cannot discharge stormwater from a new development into a combined sewer line," Herron said, noting that the new systems will allow for new construction downtown in the future. "As new development occurs, that storm sewer will be available to accommodate stormwater management regulations that the federal government requires."
Herron added that construction of the city's new Market Street Parking Garage that is currently being built at the corner of 11th and Market streets would not be possible without the new storm sewer system that is being installed as part of the Streetscape work.
When the city performed the sewer separation work on Main Street, one lane of traffic was maintained, so the disruption to commerce did not have such an extensive impact. The storm sewer pipe being installed on Main Street is a much larger pipe, and the overall project calls for curb and sidewalk demolition and reconstruction, so the work crews are utilizing the entire width of Market Street in the current work zones. This is causing significant disruptions for businesses in these areas.
Crews will continue sidewalk work along the east side of Main Street through the winter, according to the WVDOT officials. Crews are working on demolishing existing sidewalks and replacing them with new sidewalk, planters and other landscaping. Crews will continue to provide pedestrian detours along the adjacent sidewalks while maintaining access to all businesses, officials stated.
To date, crews have removed existing sidewalks and replaced them with proposed sidewalks including some of the new streetscape features along the west side of Main Street.
Remaining work to be performed includes the completion of the drainage structures along the remaining portions of Market Street; sidewalk replacement along the remaining east side of Main Street, both sides of 16th Street, 10th Street, Market Street, as well as a couple short segments of Chapline and Eoff streets; remaining streetscape activities (planting of trees, shrubs and other features); work associated with removal of existing and replacing with new traffic signals; and milling and paving of all streets included in the project.
Officials from the city of Wheeling have been able to receive more detailed updates from officials with WVDOT. Vice Mayor Chad Thalman expressed concerns to state officials about timeframes and communication issues related to the Streetscape and how downtown businesses were being affected. Thalman requested that a representative attend this week's city council meeting, if one was available.
Although state officials were unable to attend, West Virginia Division of Highways District 6 officials Charlie Swart, maintenance engineer, and Ryan Sengewalt, acting District 6 construction engineer, provided Thalman with the most recent updates.
Sengewalt indicated that portions of Market Street may accommodate traffic in the future while storm sewer work continues.
"As work progresses along Market Street from Lane 7 to 10th Street into February, we intend to try to incorporate traffic alongside construction as much as possible, but we need to further evaluate this situation," he said. "There has been discussion to try to at least pave Main Street in the spring or early summer of 2024, but no commitments have been made to date."
State officials said WVDOH District 6 engineers will continue to meet with city officials to help keep everyone updated on the progress of the project.