Streetscape Paving on Main Street Moved Up to June
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WHEELING - Curb and sidewalk work along Main Street as part of the Downtown Streetscape Project in Wheeling has been moving along briskly in recent months, and the West Virginia Division of Highways and the project general contractor are rearranging the work schedule to allow paving to occur much sooner that originally planned.
The paving of Main Street, according to officials, will now begin this June.
The city of Wheeling this week posted the latest update on the Streetscape work, which has engulfed the downtown business district with orange barrels and construction zones along both Main and Market streets.
A coordination meeting was held this week with representatives from the WVDOH, the city administration and the general contractor, Triton Construction Inc. of St. Albans. Parties discussed progress of the project and coordination of work around utility services in each block of the construction.
Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said it was welcome news to hear that efforts had come to fruition to reschedule some of the street resurfacing portion of the $32 million state project to take place much sooner. The city’s main traffic arteries in the downtown have been torn up and patched a number of times even before the state began working on the Streetscape project. The city had completed a significant amount of underground utility work ahead of the Streetscape project’s launch.
"Depending on how the project continued to evolve with progress through the winter, that paving is now several months to a year sooner than originally planned," Herron said. "All involved recognize the very deteriorated condition of Main Street, but much work had to be done in advance of paving."
With significant progress being made on curbs, sidewalks and other improvements on Main Street, the paving adjustment had become a goal that is expected to bring weary downtown commuters a bit of relief while the overall project continues until mid-2025.
"We've known that focusing on significant completion of Main Street was in the works for several weeks, as the WVDOH has involved us in those discussions," Herron explained. "Monday's meeting was to ensure coordination amongst those entities working in the project area to make that happen."
Crews on Market Street have tackled some of the sidewalk replacement, but a lot of the work on the downtown’s northbound traffic artery has focused on the storm sewer installation. As crews continue to wrap up sidewalk installation in Main Street, new traffic signals are now being installed on its upper end.
Underground fiber optic lines, utilities, and most of the other improvements related to the Streetscape have to be completed before the street resurfacing puts the icing on the cake, officials indicated.
"A significant focus for all involved has been to get that advance work properly done so that paving finishes it off," Herron said. "We are pleased with this direction and fully support the efforts to make it happen. The rest of the overall Streetscape project will continue to progress on schedule."
The Main Street paving now slated for June will run the entire length of downtown from Ninth Street to 16th Street. Installation of landscaping material will begin in March. In the finishing phases of the work, amenities such as benches, trash receptacles and bike racks will be installed as part of the overall project completion schedule.
Work on the West Virginia Division of Highways’ $32 million Downtown Streetscape Project in Wheeling is moving along at a brisk clip. Officials this week announced that the scheduled paving along Main Street is being moved ahead by many months, as work along sidewalks and other construction is being completed to allow street resurfacing to take place in early summer. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
State officials indicated that once the bulk of the construction is completed on Main Street, work on some of the peripheral areas of the Streetscape project - including portions of 16th, Chapline and Eoff streets - will take place before the heavy focus turns to completing work along Market Street.
The sewer separation work - which has resulted in block-by-block closures and detours as installation of the huge storm pipe continues to make its way northward - is expected to be completed in March. To avoid future disruptions, significant efforts are underway to ensure that Streetscape work will not be delayed, according to the latest update.
Lane restrictions on 12th Street will continue where the city is currently repairing a sanitary sewer line. The Wheeling Water Department will also close out abandoned water services in this area around 12th Street.
Before Main Street is paved, some additional storm sewer work will take place in and around Main Street’s intersections with Ninth and 10th streets. Some additional underground utility work - including work on gas lines, fiber optic cable, electric lines and other services - will also be completed in the upper part of Main Street in anticipation of a potential Gateway Center project near the Wheeling Suspension Bridge where the former Wheeling Inn is expected to be razed, officials noted.
Some additional traffic signals outside of the original scope of the Streetscape project are also expected to be replaced. These are now part of the overall signalization contract, officials noted. Six traffic signals at Seventh and Market streets and Seventh and Main streets will be replaced, in addition to new signalization at Chapline, 10th, 12th and 14th streets. Officials stated that all traffic signals in the downtown area that are currently outdated will now be replaced with state-of-the-art signals.
All of these upgrades will improve safety and will benefit both motorists and pedestrians, officials noted.
Winter weather can affect the progress and the overall timeline of the project, WVDOH officials stressed, explaining that days of bad weather can have a "ripple effect" on various scheduling components of the project and sequencing of scheduled work. All aspects of the work are subject to WVDOH direction and approval, as well.
Officials added that work on another downtown project - the nearly $18 million Wheeling Suspension Bridge Rehabilitation - is now expected to be completed in July. Work that needs to be completed on a timber truss and wooden bracing has to be done in warm weather, state officials noted.
Work on the West Virginia Division of Highways’ $32 million Downtown Streetscape Project in Wheeling is moving along at a brisk clip. Officials this week announced that the scheduled paving along Main Street is being moved ahead by many months, as work along sidewalks and other construction is being completed to allow street resurfacing to take place in early summer. (Photo by Eric Ayres)