The Wheeling Tunnel is a set of twin tunnels named for and located in Wheeling,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. The tunnels are long each, cutting through Wheeling Hill, and each carries two lanes of

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...

and

U.S. Route 250 U.S. Route 250 (US 250) is a route of the United States Numbered Highway System, and is a spur of U.S. Route 50. It currently runs for from Richmond, Virginia to Sandusky, Ohio. It passes through the states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio. ...

. The tunnels originally took three years to construct, costing $6.9 million. Reconstruction of the tunnel, originally planned to take a total of 6 months, took over three years to complete between 2007 and 2010, at a cost of $13.7 million.

Overview

The Wheeling Tunnel sits between exits 1A and 1B on

and

, which run

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

through the city of Wheeling. The tunnel cuts through Wheeling Hill, and has two travel lanes in each tube. Due to the closeness of exit 1A to the western end of the tunnels, the tunnels' right lanes function as acceleration and deceleration lanes. Through traffic is restricted to the left lane in each tunnel and lane changes are prohibited. A series of accidents involving

semi-trailer trucks A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...

prompted local political candidates to push for trucks to be banned from the tunnel, diverting them to the nearby

I-470 Interstate 470 may refer to: *Interstate 470 (Kansas), a loop around Topeka *Interstate 470 (Missouri), a connection at Kansas City * Interstate 470 (Ohio–West Virginia), a loop around Wheeling, West Virginia *Three highways which are part of what ...

Construction

The twin tunnels, which cost $6.9 million (equivalent to $ million in ) to construct, are lined with a total of of industrial tile. Then governor

William Wallace Barron William Wallace Barron (December 8, 1911 – November 12, 2002) was an American Democratic politician in West Virginia. He was the state's 26th Governor from 1961 to 1965. Life and career He was born in Elkins, West Virginia. He attended Washi ...

, and the state roads commissioner broke ground on the tunnel on August 22, 1963, which he stated was the largest single construction project in the state's

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

program. The construction contract was awarded to C.J. Langenfelder & Son, Inc. located in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Several workers became ill after being exposed to high amounts of

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simple ...

fumes, which brought construction to a halt in 1964 until ventilation fans were installed. The tunnel officially opened to traffic on December 7, 1966.

Renovations

Plans for the reconstruction of the tunnel were formed in 2005, with reconstruction work beginning in January 2007. Reconstruction of the tunnel was planned to take 3 months, but reconstruction of the eastbound tunnel, which was not totally completed, took over eleven months. After the issues with the reconstruction work, local politicians suggested closing the tunnels altogether, and to just build the freeway over Wheeling Hill, however after opposition from the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

and other groups, the suggestions were dropped. Completion of the eastbound tunnel reconstruction begin in July 2008, when the tiles were replaced for the first time with new tiles fabricated by a German tile manufacturer. The Division of Highways had to award the contract to the German company because no other company could complete the request within the time frame required. The original tiles were made by a now-defunct company based in Cleveland. During the second round of eastbound tunnel reconstruction, the westbound tunnel was also closed overnight for construction work. The eastbound tunnel reconstruction was completed on October 31, 2008. The westbound tube was closed in February 2010, and opened a month ahead of schedule in September 2010. The total cost of the project was over double the original bid, totaling $13.7 million, due to the delays.

References

External links

*{{Commons category-inline
Wheeling Tunnel
at BridgeHunter.com Interstate 70 U.S. Route 250 Road tunnels in West Virginia Tunnels completed in 1966

Overview

Construction

Renovations

See also

References

External links