Eastbound tunnel tube closing today

WHEELING - Plans call for the eastbound tube of the Wheeling Tunnel to close sometime today, and to remain shut down for at least the next 14 weeks.

The Wheeling Police Department is to assist the project contractor, Velotta Co. of Sharon Center, Ohio, with placing the cones that precipitate the tunnel closure.

"We have a guy scheduled at 7 a.m. to work with the contractor," said Wheeling Police Lt. Tom Mitchell. "We don't know what time the tunnel will be closed. But they did this before. They should be pretty good at it."

The project is expected to be completed by Nov. 1. Plans to do the westbound tube aren't being considered at this time, and won't be until after the project is completed, said Brent Walker, West Virginia Division of Highways spokesman.

Eastbound motorists traveling to areas past Wheeling on Interstate 70 should consider taking Interstate 470 east at St. Clairsville, Ohio to bypass the city. Those continuing on to I-70 will be detoured onto Main Street in downtown Wheeling, then up 16th Street to reach I-70.

"Use the alternate routes, allow more time, drive with patience, and do what the police tell you to do," Mitchell said. "If a policeman says go that way, go that way because there is a reason."

He expects as people again become accustomed to the detour, traffic will become less of a problem. Tie-ups weren't a major problem in the downtown when the eastbound tube was closed last year, officials have stated.

"There were people in Bethlehem who told me the traffic was treacherous on I-470 in the evenings. With all the semis going up the hill, it was like playing Frogger," he noted.

Tiling still needs to be completed within the eastbound tube, as does electrical work and the placement of a closed-circuit television monitoring system.

The Velotta Co. won the contract in 2006 to renovate both tubes of the Wheeling Tunnel with a bid of $5,776,989. Problems removing old tiles threw the project over schedule as the work was being completed by Massaro Industries of Oakmont, Pa.

Work began in January 2007, but the new tiles didn't stick to the tunnel's concrete subwalls, and the job was put on hold while experts assessed the problem. The unfinished tunnel was reopened to traffic Nov. 15. Since that time, representatives from the WVDOH and the Safeco Surety Co. - the bondholder for Velotta - have been assessing the situation and hammering out an agreement so that work could resume on the eastbound tube.

Only the eastbound tube is to be closed, but motorists will find times during the coming months when the westbound tube also is closed to traffic. This will occur as electrical work is done in the tunnel, requiring both sides to be closed concurrently. The westbound closures will occur only in the evenings.