BECKLEY, W.Va. — Phase two of a much talked about project to ease traffic congestion in the area is about to get underway. The East Beckley Bypass or “Beckley z-Way” project is moving forward.
“That’s a project we’ve been working on for quite some time,” said state Highway Engineer Greg Bailey.
The Z-Way Project is broken into several phases. The first was in the area of Eisenhower Drive. The most recent segment to be placed under contract is from Stanaford to Industrial Drive. The third component is now in the exploration phase and will involve widening State Route 3/US 19 from Beaver to Shady Spring.
“All of this is a result of a lot of local people getting involved and working with the highway department,” Bailey said. “They created priorities and a real structured way to make these improvements happen.”
Bailey said the work so far has caused development to burst forth and he expected the next two phases will have similar impact.
“This is a really good example of how the governor was able to use stimulus money to build a really big bridge that was needed,” said Bailey. “It has uncorked a lot of new development that is now really bearing fruit.”