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West Virginia

Started by logan230, October 16, 2014, 05:42:37 PM

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Bitmapped

WVDOH District 7 bridge crews are wrapping up restoration of the Carrollton Covered Bridge over the Buckhannon River in Barbour County. The bridge was damaged in 2017 by arson. There is a press release with photos at https://transportation.wv.gov/communications/PressRelease/Pages/WVDOH_completes_restoration_of_historic_Carrollton_Covered_Bridge.aspx

The deck of the Carrolton bridge had been replaced by concrete supported by intermediate piers in the river during a 1963 rehabilitation, so the burned wooden portion was largely cosmetic. The concrete deck allowed the bridge to remain in service while work proceeded on the restoration.

WVDOH District 7 plans to use its crew's new expertise to tackle work on the short Walkersville Covered Bridge in Lewis County and perhaps in other districts throughout the state.


seicer

#501
This will now be on my list to see in another week or so! Did they install a fire suppression system?

I was surprised that the arsonist was never caught.

Bitmapped

Quote from: seicer on May 24, 2023, 10:48:53 AM
This will now be on my list to see in another week or so! Did they install a fire suppression system?

I'm not sure, but that's not been done on any other WV covered bridges that I'm aware of. A fire detection system, like Ashtabula County OH does with their bridges, would make sense but I've not seen that either.

machpost

Quote from: Bitmapped on May 25, 2023, 10:04:09 AM
Quote from: seicer on May 24, 2023, 10:48:53 AM
This will now be on my list to see in another week or so! Did they install a fire suppression system?

I'm not sure, but that's not been done on any other WV covered bridges that I'm aware of. A fire detection system, like Ashtabula County OH does with their bridges, would make sense but I've not seen that either.

The Philippi Covered Bridge indeed has been fitted with a sprinkler system, after being destroyed by fire in 1989 and rebuilt in 1991. It can be seen on Google Street View.

carbaugh2

I'm not sure if many of you are aware based on listener counts, but WVDOT does a nice job with their weekly podcast. It often features interviews with division engineers and highlights projects of interest or that are unique builds. I have included the link below since I didn't find it on my normal podcasting app.

https://transportation.wv.gov/communications/Podcast/Pages/default.aspx

seicer

This completely slipped under my radar.

FHWA project profile: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/project_profiles/wv_rock_creek_access_road.aspx

Location (I think): https://goo.gl/maps/XGGxU8FZDAuf75hp6

--

Rock Creek interchange under construction in Boone County

Construction is underway on a new interchange to serve a massive economic development project in Boone County.

On Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, Gov. Jim Justice and the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) announced a construction contract to build a new interchange on Corridor G at Rock Creek to provide access into the Rock Creek Development Park in Boone County. Triton Construction Inc. bid $19,547,500 for the project, which was significantly lower than the Engineer's Estimate for construction.

Triton is building a diamond intersection at Corridor G and Rock Creek. A bridge will be built over Corridor G and a second bridge will be built crossing the CSX rail line and the Little Coal River to connect with the access road into the development.

"This project will absolutely bring the business community into this part of southern West Virginia,"  Gov. Justice has said. "We're going to create opportunity and jobs beyond belief."

In August 2022, WVDOH awarded a contract for $4,295,709.65 to S&E Clearing & Hydroseeding, Inc. to build the three-mile access road that will run from the new interchange, up the mountain, and into the development site.

Triton is currently moving earth and breaking up rock to make way for the new interchange.

Dirt and stone from one side of Corridor G is also being moved to the other side to serve as fill material. Temporary traffic signals have been installed to allow trucks to cross Corridor G.

Foundation work for the bridge piers is expected to begin soon. Paving is expected to begin within the next few weeks on the three-mile access road.

Rock Creek Development Park is located on the former Hobet mine site. Opening the 12,000-acre site for economic development has been one of Justice's primary goals.

The project is expected to be complete in 2026.

froggie

^ Google Maps is showing a lot of slow traffic (especially northbound) right now at the spot you picked, so you may not be far off on your guess.

seicer

At least it's not another traffic light. Now if we can focus on getting rid of other remote traffic lights on Corridor G - like the one next to the Logan interchange on that steep grade.

hbelkins

Quote from: seicer on July 18, 2023, 12:50:07 PM
At least it's not another traffic light. Now if we can focus on getting rid of other remote traffic lights on Corridor G - like the one next to the Logan interchange on that steep grade.

You mean the one near the shopping center?


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

seicer

Yes. Or any of the new ones going up on Corridor H.

Bitmapped

Quote from: seicer on July 18, 2023, 12:50:07 PM
At least it's not another traffic light. Now if we can focus on getting rid of other remote traffic lights on Corridor G - like the one next to the Logan interchange on that steep grade.

It's a completely useless project. The Hobet site, despite attempts for close to a decade now, has no significant development and no real prospects for it. Still, WVDOH is spending on a 4-lane access road and this interchange with a "build it and they will come" mentality.

hbelkins

Quote from: seicer on July 18, 2023, 01:54:25 PM
Yes. Or any of the new ones going up on Corridor H.

My point was that a busy intersection such as that one needs some form of traffic control; otherwise the chances for wrecks increase. I'd rather have a signal there than the intersection be uncontrolled.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

SP Cook

IMHO, 

there are WAY too many stop lights on all of the WV corridor highways.  Likewise in Ohio and Kentucky, the other two ARC states I drive in a lot.    The purpose of the ARC corridors was to open up mountain communities to the outside world.  To "defeat geography" as one politician called it.   Not for some guy to build a shopping strip mall and certainly not for the "something must be done" crowd to take one, while tragic, accident and turn it into a four way stop intersection when the traffic volumes on the side roads is miniscule. 

sprjus4

IMO, they shouldn't install traffic signals on high-speed 65 mph highways like this... if there's too much cross traffic, a desire for development, any traffic generating source - build a grade-separated interchange with the highway. Or at the minimum, an innovative intersection design to eliminate left turns. Either way, keep the corridor free-flowing.

GCrites

Quote from: SP Cook on July 19, 2023, 11:10:40 AM
IMHO, 

there are WAY too many stop lights on all of the WV corridor highways.  Likewise in Ohio and Kentucky, the other two ARC states I drive in a lot.    The purpose of the ARC corridors was to open up mountain communities to the outside world.  To "defeat geography" as one politician called it.   Not for some guy to build a shopping strip mall and certainly not for the "something must be done" crowd to take one, while tragic, accident and turn it into a four way stop intersection when the traffic volumes on the side roads is miniscule.

Corridor D when it's on OH-32 didn't open with many lights but now it has a lot of them considering the volume.

Bitmapped

Quote from: sprjus4 on July 19, 2023, 02:32:05 PM
IMO, they shouldn't install traffic signals on high-speed 65 mph highways like this... if there's too much cross traffic, a desire for development, any traffic generating source - build a grade-separated interchange with the highway. Or at the minimum, an innovative intersection design to eliminate left turns. Either way, keep the corridor free-flowing.

Ohio has recently taken to using RCUTs in a big way, sometimes removing existing traffic signals in favor of them. WVDOH has only built one so far, on US 119/Corridor G in Charleston. I'm hoping they become more popular as a way to eliminate signals or at least allow for coordinated progression through locations with multiple signalized intersections, like US 19 near Summersville, WV.

seicer

Same. But considering they just installed two new lights east of Buckhannon on Corridor H, it doesn't give me hope.

As for RCUTs, they work well when they are simple. I've gotten used to them, but then you come across the RCUT at OH 32 and Bauer Road, which is just a mess. One traffic light has turned into three - although you'll rarely stop at more than one because of the timing. And the dual left turn lanes is an issue for tractor-trailers as they can't use the inner lane - leading to a lot of complicated signage: https://goo.gl/maps/HvLw3S4g5GCvxQ9h6

This is one of those intersections that probably didn't need an RCUT - and ODOT could have waited a few more years until it had the funding for a proper interchange and intersection closures.

Black-Man

Quote from: Bitmapped on July 18, 2023, 10:30:16 PM
It's a completely useless project. The Hobet site, despite attempts for close to a decade now, has no significant development and no real prospects for it. Still, WVDOH is spending on a 4-lane access road and this interchange with a "build it and they will come" mentality.

Exactly. You can add the Coalfields Expressway to the list. I was just talking to my neighbor about winding down of construction on the Rural Acres/Stanaford Rd intersection in Beckley - a project which should have been done 40 years ago. As he aptly put it, "There's the state finally doing something about an intersection that's been a back up for 50 years, meanwhile they spend a billion dollars on the Coalfields Expressway for what? So you can get out of Wyoming county faster?".

The state also accepted a bad on the next phase of the Beckley Z-Way - I-64/Eisenhower Dr Exit to Beaver. Another project which should have been done when I-64 was constructed. And of course, they are removing a free-flow interchange and putting in 2 new traffic lights.

sprjus4

^ I don't really see the issue with the I-64 interchange that will be reconfigured into a partial cloverleaf interchange. The east Beckley bypass is never a freeway or even expressway, it's another arterial that has some form of access control. I wouldn't say there's as much of a free-flowing expectation on that route, compared to something like US-19 just to the north, that should be signal free all the way to I-79.

seicer

#519
The only "freeway" component of that bypass is coming off of Interstate 64 because it crosses a deep valley on a bridge. Otherwise, it's a standard five-lane road. I wasn't aware of the bypass extension but considering there isn't a feasible way of upgrading US 19 through that tight valley - it's for the better. US 19 is awfully congested because of the uncontrolled development along the route well south of Beckley towards WV 3.

About 3.5 miles of US 19 will be widened to 3 lanes from WV 3 to Granby Circle, with this document showing the four phases of this project. This document (last page shows the I-64 interchange modification and Z-Way extension, with this site showing the plans more clearly.

Still haven't heard on anything about connecting Vankirk Drive (Tamarack/Service Plaza interchange) to Pinewood Drive or Dry Hill Road.

Gnutella

Quote from: sprjus4 on July 19, 2023, 02:32:05 PM
IMO, they shouldn't install traffic signals on high-speed 65 mph highways like this... if there's too much cross traffic, a desire for development, any traffic generating source - build a grade-separated interchange with the highway. Or at the minimum, an innovative intersection design to eliminate left turns. Either way, keep the corridor free-flowing.

Case in point: GA 316.

seicer

I just came back from a long trip with the RV to Pennsylvania and got to drive much of I-79 in the state. It looks like the Servia to Frametown segment is being completely rebuilt from the ground up. I noted equipment busting up the original concrete pavement which in turn is being crushed up and used as the new roadway base. Significant portions of the highway are in poor condition, especially south of there towards Charleston, and ranks up there with I-77 near Ripley in terms of pavement quality (in my opinion).

And for being fairly new, WV 43 from I-68 to the Pennsylvania state line is awful. The northbound lanes were rough and bumpy, with a lot of spidering cracks in the slow lane. The southbound lanes were smoother with an asphalt overlay on portions of the lanes, but it only masked the dips and humps that made towing the RV a bit uncomfortable. It's about as bad as some portions of US 35 near Winfield.

Speaking of, is the I-79/US 50 rebuild in Clarksburg still proposed? (https://terradon.com/portfolio/i-79-us-50-interchange-study/)

Bitmapped

Quote from: seicer on August 14, 2023, 06:20:06 PM
And for being fairly new, WV 43 from I-68 to the Pennsylvania state line is awful. The northbound lanes were rough and bumpy, with a lot of spidering cracks in the slow lane. The southbound lanes were smoother with an asphalt overlay on portions of the lanes, but it only masked the dips and humps that made towing the RV a bit uncomfortable. It's about as bad as some portions of US 35 near Winfield.

Aside from a southbound section that was resurfaced 2-3 years ago, all of that asphalt is from 2011 or earlier. Some of it north of Exit #1 is 20ish years old, although it had a sealant applied when it finally opened in 2011. I agree about the surface being in poor condition and full of dips. It's embarrassingly bad.

Quote from: seicer on August 14, 2023, 06:20:06 PM
Speaking of, is the I-79/US 50 rebuild in Clarksburg still proposed? (https://terradon.com/portfolio/i-79-us-50-interchange-study/)

Not in any near-term or mid-term project.

seicer



This sign was installed along Squirrel Gap Road in the George Washington NF just off of Corridor H/US 48 near Moorefield, West Virginia. It's a bit overkill for a one-lane gravel road, and the sign width is as wide as the road itself! I'm not sure why it's needed as I've not seen a sign of this type on the multitude of other forest roads that branch off in the area.

hbelkins

I think SR 16 is a little more than 11.2 miles from Moorefield.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.



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