CHARLESTON, WV – Work is nearing completion on a massive widening project on Interstate 79 from Harrison County to the Pennsylvania state line that includes the demolition and reconstruction of several sets of interstate bridges.

I-79 is being widened to three lanes in either direction from South Fairmont north. Widening is expected to be complete on southbound I-79 later this summer, with widening work on northbound I-79 expected to be complete by summer of 2025.

Work is underway to replace several sets of interstate bridges along the route. In March 2023, the southbound portion of the South Fairmont West Virginia Arch Bridge was demolished as part of a bridge replacement project. Demolition of the northbound span followed in December.

Construction of new bridges at Middletown is now complete, and the new Kingmont Overpass Bridge is expected to be open to traffic within the next few weeks.

Bridges at Millersville and Tygart River must still be replaced. Demolition of the existing northbound Tygart River Bridge has been complete, and contractors are setting steel beams for the final phase of bridge construction.

Meanwhile several other highway projects are scheduled to begin within the next 60 days in West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) District 4, which includes Doddridge, Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, and Taylor counties.

In the pipeline are a $1.6 million project to replace the Everetteville Bridge in Monongalia County, a $1.43 million project to resurface the Interstate 68 Exit ramps, $1.4 million to repave WV 26 from Valley Point to Wollen Mills in Preston County, and $1.6 million to repave the intersection of US 50 and WV 18 in Doddridge County.

A project to upgrade ADA ramps in Bruceton Mills in Preston County is also expected to get underway within the next two months. The WVDOH is upgrading ADA ramps all over the state to comply with federal mandates.