Skip to main content

WVDOH: We may have the Mon-Fayette Expressway done by the end of this year

A WVDOH official indicated that the WV portion of the Mon-Fayette Expressway could be open by the end of the year.

The I-68/Bower's Lane interchange project should be completed by November. The northern half of the interchange which connects to Bower's Lane is 40 percent complete. The southern half of the interchange - a direct tie in to Interstate 68 - is 25 percent finished.

Story Links:
W. Va. portion of expressway could open this year ---The Charleston Gazette
Mon-Fayette Expressway ---WDTV w/video

Commentary:
I just can't see how the direct connection with I-68 will be finished by the end of the year. I expect that West Virginia will open the highway to Bower's Lane - forcing traffic to take a less than one mile detour on WV 857 to get to I-68 - then open the direct connection to I-68 sometime next year.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I can see crews making progress on the Bowers Lane interchange contract, but nothing extremely drastic appears to be happening at the site of the proposed I-68 interchange. You can see construction near the I-68 westbound offramp to Cheat Lake, but nothing is happening on the other side of the interchange near the Burger King. A flyover ramp from the Mon-Fayette Expressway to I-68 East is supposed to be built in that area in conjunction with a "flyunder" ramp that will carry traffic from I-68 East to Route 43 North. At least, those are the plans that I've seen.

I can't picture the I-68 interchange opening by next fall.
Anonymous said…
Actually, according to the link below as well as several other articles, the I-68 interchange is not going to be all that much initially. Right now, according to the article, crews are working on the first phase of the I-68 interchange. The second phase will make the new interchange similar to the one at the western end of I-68, but this contract won't be let until traffic volumes increase.

That seems accurate as there are no evidence of construction at the proposed location of the flyover ramps. Wonder what phase 1 of the I-68 interchange includes? It seems like it's going to initially be of an odd hybrid design.

In any sense, I think it's incorrect for officials to say that West Virginia's portion of the Mon-Fayette Expressway will be totally finished by the end of this year.

http://www.allbusiness.com/transportation/road-transportation-trucking-road/13715110-1.html

Popular posts from this blog

Cajon Pass; Cajon Pass Toll Road, National Old Trails Road, US Route 66/91/395 and Interstate 15

This past weekend I spent some time in Cajon Pass traversing the many historic road alignments. Cajon Pass is located in San Bernardino County, California along the San Andreas Fault.  Cajon Pass  serves the boundary line between the Mojave Desert, the San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains and San Bernardino Valley.  Cajon Pass is historically one of the most traveled transportation corridors in American California and presently is served by four rail lines, Interstate 15 and California State Route 138. While Cajon Pass is known mostly for carrying US Route 66 it has carried numerous other signed highways that have had a significant impact on regional and national road travel.  While this is my best attempt to compile everything from the best sources I could find into one single transportation history blog regarding road travel in Cajon Pass I suspect as time goes on this article will be frequently updated.  If you have any information that you ...

Pardee Dam Road

Pardee Dam is a 358-foot-high concrete structure located near Campo Seco at the Calaveras County and Amador County Line.  Pardee Dam impounds the Mokelumne River which forms the namesake Pardee Reservoir.  Pardee Dam was completed during 1929 and is part of the East Bay Municipal Utility District.  Pardee Dam is accessed by the namesake Pardee Dam Road which crosses the structure via the one-lane road seen as the blog cover photo.   Part 1; the history of Pardee Dam Road The closest community to Pardee Dam is that of Campo Seco on the Calaveras County side of the Mokelumne River.  Campo Seco was founded in 1850 by Mexican Miners who worked placer claims in Oregon Gulch during the height of the California Gold Rush.  Campo Seco would reach a population of about three hundred by 1860 spurred by the numerous mining claims in the area.  Main Street of Campo Seco flowed directly into the Campo Seco Turnpike which had been authorized by the California L...

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...