History
The first recorded road that reached then Wheeling, Virginia was a post road linking Wheeling southeast to Morgantown. The post road was completed in 1794. The National Road was the first interstate road that served Wheeling, linking the town to Cumberland, Maryland in the east. The National Road was completed to Wheeling in 1818. In 1926 the United States Numbered Highways system was established, and the National Road through the Northern Panhandle was designated US 40. US 40 linked Vallejo, California in the west to Atlantic City, New Jersey in the east. Passage of the Federal-aid Highway Act and the Highway Revenue Act of 1956 brought the Interstate Highway System to West Virginia, and the I-70 designator was first designated to a then unconstructed highway across the panhandle.
Portions of I-70 across the Northern Panhandle had been completed by 1963; however, at that time, the link to Pennsylvania had not been completed. At the western end of I-70, the bridge that carries the freeway from the Ohio state line to Wheeling Island was constructed in 1968, while the Fort Henry Bridge across the main channel was built in 1955. The two tunnels that form the Wheeling Tunnel were estimated to cost a total of $7 million, and were completed in 1967. Construction on the freeway across the panhandle was completed in 1971.
The Wheeling Tunnel was closed for reconstruction work in 2007, 2008, and 2010, causing travelers who wished to travel through on I-70 to detour. The two detour routes included using city streets through downtown Wheeling or by using the I-470 loop. After traffic issues during the reconstruction work on the Wheeling Tunnel in 2008, local politicians suggested closing the twin tunnels altogether and building the freeway over Wheeling Hill instead. After opposition from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which was representing residents who live on Wheeling Hill and other groups, the suggestions were dropped. Estimates put the cost of the project between $60 and $80 million to complete. The total cost of the tunnel reconstruction project was over double the original bid, totaling $13.7 million, due to the numerous delays.
Read more about this topic: Interstate 70 In West Virginia
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