I-77/US 50 interchange in Parkersburg, WV

[The_Ginger]

Starting this thread about the interchange between I-77 and US 50 in Parkersburg, West Virginia, which is currently undergoing a bridge replacement. I thought that once the bridges are done, the interchange will be converted to a SPUI, but I can't be sure.

Here's the latest photo by me of how the southbound bridge is coming along:


The northbound bridge has already been completed.

[Bitmapped]

WVDOH doesn't have anything programmed for reconfiguring the interchange. This is just a straightforward bridge replacement project.

A SPUI would require a significant amount of earthwork to account for the hill north of the interchange - there's a reason why the ramp to I-77 NB is offset from the main interchange.

[Stephane Dumas]

A SPUI would require a significant amount of earthwork to account for the hill north of the interchange - there's a reason why the ramp to I-77 NB is offset from the main interchange.

Does a DDI would have been a better fit for that interchange?

[wriddle082]

A SPUI would require a significant amount of earthwork to account for the hill north of the interchange - there's a reason why the ramp to I-77 NB is offset from the main interchange.

Does a DDI would have been a better fit for that interchange?

Anything better than a standard diamond would certainly be welcome.  US 50 is basically a freeway west of the interchange, and expressway east of it, though traffic counts don't seem to be extremely heavy.  A SPUI would at least reduce the number of traffic signals.  I don't think a DDI is justified, but would obviously be easier to construct.  Unfortunately there isn't enough room for a full cloverleaf with C/D, which would be ideal for a freeway-to-freeway interchange.

[Bitmapped]

The interchange functions decently well as-is. Most of the traffic is going straight through the interchange as opposed to changing routes here. I don't see WVDOH being really interested in reconfiguring this interchange anytime soon, as opposed to the I-79/US 50 interchange which can have significant delays and does appear on medium-to-long term plans.