10:06am: Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval

Lane closure shift may help Charleston traffic headache

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It appeared from the flow of morning rush hour traffic in Charleston Wednesday that an overnight shift of closed lanes associated with a construction project may have helped what’s been a week of backed up traffic.

Crews worked Tuesday evening to change traffic from a double right lane closure to a double left lane closure where the Westmoreland interchange leads into Interstate 77.

The change, according to state Division of Highways spokesman Brent Walker, comes after complaints about congestion in the area and evaluation of traffic in the area.

“If we see that there are some major backups, then we try to determine if there is a way to alleviate,” he said. “If there is, we try it.”

Most of the traffic headed into Charleston from the west is continuing south on I-77/I-64 toward the state capitol. The right lane closures was forcing the traffic to the left and then back to the right where the interstate flow splits. Traffic was backed up half toward the Montrose Drive exit in South Charleston.

The flow appeared to be a lot better Wednesday morning.

Another change at the interchange includes eliminating the stop condition at the Washington Street on-ramp.

“There’s still going to be some congestion. This isn’t the magic pill,” Walker said of the changes. “We think it’s going to alleviate some of that congestion.”

Walker said they will evaluate the new pattern and determine if additional pattern changes are necessary.

Construction crews have another 90 days left of a 24/7 construction project that’s replacing four interstate bridge decks near the Westmoreland exit. At the 50-day mark, the lane closures will be shifted to the southbound lanes.





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