MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Easton Hill Intersection project is expected to open Friday, but may not be available for morning commuters, according to the West Virginia Department of Highways.
“It’s going very well, I was there [Thursday] morning meeting with some of our engineers on the project and it looks really great,” District Engineer Don Williams said.
The new intersection is designed to avoid bottleneck traffic that comes between Mileground and Easton Mill roads, allowing traffic going into the Mileground to deal with minimal delays caused by traffic lights.
“Tidying up some work, mainly guardrail type work and we think it’s going to be a go for [Friday],” Williams said.
The intersection closed at 11:59 p.m. July 28 to begin the project. After two weeks of around the clock construction, Williams expects very good results, especially during football games.
“The traffic leaving the Mileground or leaving the football stadium, you got a direct shot now all the way to I-68,” he said “Before you had to come down go to the intersection, make a right , turn at the light. Now it’s more of a straight shot so I think it’ll make a big difference.”
As Morgantown readies for WVU students to come into town for move in weekend, the Division of Highways says a contingency plan is in place if the intersection doesn’t open on time. Despite the time crunch Williams said Friday afternoon drivers should expect to drive on a great project that cuts down on heavy traffic.
“It really looks magnificent, I think it’s a good looking project and it’s so different what it looks like now and what it did a few months ago,” he said.
The intersection is expected to open no later than 11:59 p.m. Friday night.
WVU’s full student move in is set for Saturday.