CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — The state Division of Highways says a contractor wants to start work as early as next month on the reconstruction and repaving of an 8-mile stretch of Interstate 79 between Anmoore and Saltwell Road in Harrison County.
DOH District 4 Manager Earl Gaskins said Mountaineer Contractors, which was awarded the $19 million contract, wants to start on drainage repairs this winter so repaving can take place next spring and summer. The section of interstate is three lanes in each direction.
“It’s an isolated overhaul project,” Gaskins said. “We’re reconstructing the drainage, there’s going to be a brand new paving, it’s an extensive project that’s going to do a lot of good for this area.”
Gaskins said a timeline will be determined in the near future.
“We’re meeting with the contractors here in the next couple weeks, and they’re wanting to get started in December,” said Gaskins. “There are going to be some major drains that we’re going to have to correct, and they’re wanting to get all that done this winter, that way they can start paving in the spring, everything is scheduled to be done by November of next year.”
Gaskins said the drainage work will include a complete excavation of portions of the roadway added with the replacement of barrier walls and drainage structures that are expected to be completed by the end of the spring.
“We might have to do some pretty extensive excavation, we might have to remove some sections of a barrier wall that’s in place now, and we may add some drainage structures and then, of course, replace the wall that we’ve taken down to replace those,” said Gaskins. “So there’s a lot of work involved with correcting the drainage.”
Gaskins said the project is also expected to support traffic increases that are expected to take place as development continues around Harrison County, particularly around the North Central West Virginia Airport.
“It’s long overdue and we worked really hard with our leadership to get this project through, and luckily we did get it through,” said Gaskins. “Now we can start to see some progress in getting the repairs done.”