All schools in Upshur County will close at 1 p.m. today. All B-UHS sporting events today are canceled.

Calling all cones: Six-lane section of I-79 opens near Fairmont

A new three-mile, six-lane section of I-79 between mile markers 132 and 135 near Fairmont opened Thursday as the West Virginia Division of Highways removed cones, part of a wider widening and bridge-replacement program.
Road Work

The cones are gone and a new six-lane section of Interstate 79 is now fully open near Fairmont.

The West Virginia Division of Highways (WWVDOH) removed traffic control devices, including traffic cones, from a three-mile section of I-79 between mile markers 132 and 135 on Thursday, August 28, 2025.

In May 2021, Pennsylvania-based Swank Construction Company was awarded a contract for $72.5 million to widen I-79 to six lanes between the South Fairmont and Pleasant Valley exits. The project also included replacement of three bridges.

The widening is part of a larger series of projects to improve I-79 and replace or rehabilitate several sets of bridges between Harrison County and the Pennsylvania state line.

Work continues on other stretches of I-79 in northern West Virginia.

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