MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The 1.2-mile Raleigh Street Extension Project in Martinsburg is finally completed.
West Virginia Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox along with Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and other state and local leaders will be on hand Wednesday for a ribbon cutting to mark the opening of the extension.
The extension is a four-lane highway that connects existing Raleigh Street on the southern end at the intersection of Race and Raleigh streets and continues north to the intersection with Edwin Miller Boulevard.
The project was first started back in 2010 and state Division of Highways spokesman Brent Walker said its completion has been a long time coming.
“It’s been several years in the making since we had some right-of-way purchases,” he said. “We had actually three projects on that so we had three different contractors working on that.”
The northern section of the project has been finished for awhile and the southern section was completed earlier this year. The middle section took longer to complete because it involved three bridges and the relocation of Tavern Road where it intersects with the new road.
In all, the three different contracts total nearly $20.8 million. Walker said the extension will benefit the area greatly.
“It’s going to eliminate congestion and really allow us to be more efficient in moving vehicles through that ever growing Eastern Panhandle,” said Walker.
The ribbon cutting will take place on Raleigh Street approximately a half mile from Route 9 and Edwin Miller Blvd. It will begin at 3 p.m.