CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Repairs continued on Interstate-64 Tuesday as crews began much needed mill and fill work to the road.
The project started Monday night and could take up to 4 months to complete. Work zone crews will first repair areas of the interstate from the Dunbar interchange to the Oakwood Road interchange in Charleston before the repaving starts.
The eastbound lanes will get attention first. Crews will make their way towards Charleston before heading back west to Dunbar. West Virginia Paving will put to use $18.6 million from the state to complete the work.
The Manager of the project, Ryan Canfield, said they will cover 5.05 miles and will incorporate about 30 lane miles worth of new asphalt, calling it a much needed upgrade.
All of the work will be happening overnight during hours of less interstate travel. Even with the lesser chances of congestion during late night travel, it’s still even more important to pay attention if you are driving during those hours through the work zones.
“Stay off your devices and pay attention to nighttime closures,” Canfield said. “Pay attention to the reduced speed limit going through that site.”
Department of Transportation Work Zone Safety Outreach Coordinator Randy Damron couldn’t agree more. He knows it’s easy to get distracted while in the vehicle, but it’s not worth it especially at night and especially driving through a work zone.
“Work zones are dangerous in the day time, but when you add the night time, it becomes more dangerous,” Damron said while standing in a work zone along I-64 Tuesday night. “When you see the signs, make sure to slow down and get rid of all distractions in the vehicle.”
Damron said it’s the distractions that have led to so many rear end collisions, the most common accident in work zones.
“Pay attention means reducing your speed. Slow down even below the speed limit,” said Damron.
The Work Zone Safety Outreach Coordinator said law enforcement will be cracking down even more on speeders and distracted drivers making their way through work zones. A recently launched work zone safety campaign creates a partnership with law enforcement, who will watch even closer and perhaps up the number of the tickets given out for such infractions.
Canfield, District 1 Acting Construction Engineer, said at least one lane will always be open in the work zones going each direction. He added this section of the interstate hasn’t been repaved in several years.
