Interstate 64 in West Virginia

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Interstate 64 travels for 184 miles within the state of West Virginia, passing by the major towns and cities of Huntington, Charleston, Beckley, and Lewisburg. It has only two major junctions within the state: Interstate 77 in Charleston and in Beckley.

History

Early beginnings

The first interstate highway segment to be let to construction was in Cabell County in 1957. This segment, from US 60 (milepost 15) to Ona (milepost 20) was completed in 1960 Release Date Report. West Virginia Department of Transportation. August 2003.] .

In 1962, a lengthy segment from Exit 28 at Milton to just west of Exit 44 was opened to traffic. This included interchanges 34 and 39. One year later, Interstate 64 was completed to Exit 44, serving originally WV 17, now US 35 near St. Albans.

In 1964, an 8-mile segment of interstate opened from Exit 20 at Ona to Exit 28 at Milton.

1965 saw the completion of a major part of Interstate 64. A lengthy segment opened from the Kentucky state line (milepost 0) to Exit 15 at Barboursville. This consisted of four interchanges: Kenova and Ceredo at milepost 1, the West Huntington Expressway (WV 94, later US 52) at milepost six, US 52 and downtown Huntington (later WV 152/WV 527) at milepost eight, and Hal Greer Blvd. and WV 10 at milepost 10. Two steel-girder bridges were completed over the Big Sandy River connecting Kentucky to West Virginia. That bridge was replaced in 2000 in a reconstruction effort that raised the bridge level and replaced deteriorating bridge girders.

In 1966, the first Kanawha River crossing was completed with new interstate mainlines extending from Exit 44 near St. Albans to Exit 50 at Institute under four contracts. This included three new interchanges: Nitro at milepost 45, Cross Lanes at milepost 47 and Institute at milepost 50. One year later, Interstate 64 was extended eastward to Dunbar at milepost 52.40 with a new interchange constructed at that location. For six years, the interstate would end just outside of Charleston's borders.

Charleston's routing troubles

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Planning for the routing of Interstate 64, as well as for Interstate 77 and Interstate 79 through Charleston, was embroiled in controversy since the 1950s. Several alignments were considered which included a northern arc around the Charleston metro area, a downtown route and a southern arc south of South Charleston.

The mayor at the time, John Shanklin, mayor for eight years from 1959 to 1967, was originally a strong opponent of any interstate highway going through the center of the city. Shanklin reversed his decision soon after, stated that Charleston can adjust to the impact and that it will eventually become a "great thing."

In 1971, the city and many residents were swimming in controversy over the routings of the interstate highways. The long planned interstates through West Virginia were either to run directly through the city center or skirt it.

The plan was to bring Interstate 64 through the Triangle District, just west of the downtown center, an urban blight where many of the city's black population lived. Home to the city's highest crime rates where shootings daily were common; it was referred to as the "Red Light District." Urban renewals in the past had failed. Residents living in the Triangle District formed committees and rebelled. They called the highway routing foolish because it wanted to make Charleston just another exit on an endless ribbon of concrete and that it was racist because the black population would bear the brunt of the relocation.Fact|date=July 2007

Federal transportation secretary John Volpe stalled for months at the decision on the routing of Interstate 64 through Charleston. By late 1971, however, the final decision was made to route the interstate through the Triangle District. The Triangle Improvement Council fought the decision for the downtown routing and took its case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. They failed however, as they had no basis for their case.Fact|date=July 2007 Construction began in September 1971, cutting away parts of 14 mountains and demolishing over 1,000 homes on the south banks of the Kanawha River.Fact|date=July 2007 WV 14 and other roads were relocated. The Fort Hill project, named so because of the mountain that lies near the massive US 119 interchange, became one of the largest earth-moving projects on the North American continent up to that point and one of the biggest changes that Charleston has ever known.

* 1971: (Uses Interstate 77 mileage.) Construction began for the connection between the Interstate 77/64 interchange at Exit 101 (MP 101.64) to Exit 96 (MP 95.87).

* 1974: Interstate 64 opened to traffic from milepost 52.40, two miles east of Exit 50 at Institute to Exit 55 (milepost 55.45). This included the construction of an interchange at milepost 54 for US 60 and WV 601 and a second Kanawha River span. When the river crossing was completed, it was one of the largest steel girder bridges in the United States at the time. Also, Interstate 77/64 opened from Exit 100 (MP 100.16) to Exit 99 (MP 99.12).

* 1975: Interstate 64 was completed to Interstate 77 which included the US 119 Fort Hill interchange (Exit 58A) at milepost 57.48. This segment also involved the construction of the third Kanawha River span, Exits 58B and 58C and the Interstate 77 junction at milepost 58.78. This three-level junction spans local streets and is the largest interchange in West Virginia with piers embedded in buildings, over water and over nearby streets. This also included the viaduct over the Triangle District.

* 1976: Interstate 77/64 opened from Exit 96 (MP 95.87) to the northern terminus of the West Virginia Turnpike at milepost 99.12 (Exit 99). The interstate concurrency was opened to traffic from Exit 100 (MP 100.16) to Exit 101 (MP 101.64). This completed the last segment of interstate within Charleston city limits.

Charleston east to Virginia

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The alignment of Interstate 64 was to originally parallel US 60 from Charleston to the Virginia state line. This would go through environmentally sensitive areas such as Hawk's Nest and the New River Gorge area and might have disrupted the natural beauty and the isolation of the area.

In 1969, Governor Arch Moore announced a delay in the construction of Interstate 64 east of Charleston. He concluded that a study needed to be done on whether the highway should run parallel to US 60 east of Charleston. On March 28, 1974, Governor Moore concluded that Interstate 64 would be routed from Sam Black Church almost due west to a junction with the West Virginia Turnpike (I-77) near Beckley, rather than following the U.S. 60 alignment as initially proposed. From that point, I-64 was concurrent with the northern portion of an upgraded West Virginia Turnpike to reach the Charleston area. This section of I-64 is the only portion in West Virginia which is a toll road.

In 1971, Interstate 64 was completed from WV 12 (MP 161.46) to the Virginia state line at MP 184.02. This included six interchanges Exit 161 for WV 12, Exit 169 for US 219 and Lewisburg, Exit 175 for US 60 for White Sulphur Springs, Exit 181 for US 60 (WB only), and for WV 311 (EB only) at Exit 183. It was extended westward to Exit 156 (MP 155.98) at Sam Black Church in 1973.

The final segment of Interstate 64 to be completed was between Sam Black Church and the West Virginia Turnpike near Beckley. This revised interstate alignment traverses through an entirely rural area with extremely rugged terrain. Opened in 1988, this final portion is 38-miles long and cost approximately $300 million to construct, making it one of the most expensive segments of interstate highway in the United States at $7.8 million per mile. It has some extremely rugged terrain, with one segment boasting a 7% grade downhill eastbound for seven miles at Sandstone Mountain. Anticipating loss of braking situations, two emergency truck escape ramps were built to be used by runaway trucks. These emergency ramps were used with such frequency that, in addition to large warning signs alerting truckers to the steep grade, a special truck speed advisory system was installed to automatically weigh each truck and indicate the speed at which it should begin the downhill section.

Even with careful adherence to reduced speeds for truckers, the journey from Charleston to Lewisburg is far quicker and far safer on I-64 than the older routing via U.S. 60, much of which winds through the mountains as the Midland Trail, a two-lane scenic byway, passing through hamlets such as Rainelle and Ansted.

The New River crossing is at milepost 137 atop the Robert C. Byrd Bridge; Byrd, as a U.S. Senator from West Virginia, pushed for the substantial funds required to complete Interstate 64. The highway also traverses through a wildlife refuge and marsh near milepost 154.

Huntington's inaccessibility

The difficulty of reaching downtown Huntington from Interstate 64 was quite evident since the highway's opening in the early-1960s. When the highway was first proposed in the late-1950s, Interstate 64 was originally to be led into the city of Huntington and cross much of the city on a viaduct similar to Charleston's. When the interstate was completed on the outskirts of the city instead, other means of shuttling people to and from the interstate and downtown were needed. A plan was devised that would radically reshape the city's major roadways. Two new underpasses would be constructed to carry traffic under the CSX railroad tracks that bisect the city -- one at 15th Street and the other at 5th Street. The original intent was to pair a new and widened 15th Street with Hal Greer Blvd. (WV 10 (they parallel each other) and its existing underpass, and make each a flow in one direction. The plan also goes on to state that the curves on 5th Street Road would be straightened out and a wider bridge to be constructed at Four Pole Creek at Ritter Park. 5th Street from the bridge to the future underpass would be widened as well.

This never happened in full terms as money was in short supply. It would have been expensive to construct all segments of the plan. NIMBYism was also prevalent, as many residents complained it would destroy the quiet, residential neighborhood appeal.

Part of the plan was completed, however, in the early-1960s along Hal Greer Blvd. (WV 10). Proceeding southbound, Hal Greer Blvd. would use two 90-degree turns and use part of 15th Street as a four-lane one-way road. This would have been the southern end of the new 15th Street that was never fully constructed. Work began on March 19, 2003 to remove the dogleg as it appears the plan to add new underpasses and truly widen 15th Street will never be completed.

Continuing improvements

Continuing improvements and new interchanges were discussed throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

* In 2001, a new interchange opened for the Merritts Creek Connector at Barboursville. Exit 18 serves a new four-lane highway that links US 60 and WV 2 together.

* In 2002, cable median barriers were installed from milepost 6 to milepost 15 as a stopgap measure. These new barriers, installed for $2 million, required the regradeing of the median and upgrades to the drainage system. These new protective devices have proved to be worthwhile, preventing many crossover accidents which have plagued the highway since the 1990s, mostly attributed to an increase in traffic on the overburdened interstate highway. This cable barrier system was extended to Exit 28 at Milton in 2005 and future measures will ensure that the rest of the interstate highway system in West Virginia, where a depressed grassy median of similar width exists, will receive one.

* Aging roadbeds and bridges are of large concern to the Department of Highways. Many interstate highway spans are approaching the end of their useful life span, several nearing forty-years of age. One such span in the Huntington metro area shows significant signs of deterioration. The Hal Greer Blvd./WV 10 crossings, approaching 40 years of life, have decayed to the point where regular maintaince is needed. A three-foot by three-foot segment of the westbound bridge collapsed in early 2002 after a harsh winter, for example, and this only highlights the problems being experienced on the original Interstate 64 spans. The two spans at Hal Greer Blvd. are slated to be replaced with a new wider crossing in the near future.

* In 2003, demolition of the West Pea Ridge Road overpass began. The bridge, built in 1961, utilized steel girders and had become deteriorated over the years and was replaced with prestressed concrete beams. Construction was completed in late-2004.

* Other notable recent projects:
** Darnell Road Bridge replacement. This is just west of the Barboursville/US 60 interchagne at milepost 15. The four-lane span is being replaced with a six-lane crossing at a cost of $7.5 million. It was completed in mid-2006.
** The Hubbard Branch overpass near milepost two was replaced in 2005.
** The Edgewood Drive overpass near milepost three and the 19th Street overpass near milepost 5.5 and Exit 6 was replaced in 2006.
** The Crossroads underpass to tunnel conversion was completed in 2006 at milepost 12.
** The second Kanawha River crossing between Dunbar and South Charleston is being twinned. In 2005, construction wrapped up on a new eastbound approach on the north bank of the river. In 2006, construction is wrapping up on the eastbound approach on the south bank. In 2008, the bridge itself is slated to be constructed. When complete, this will tie in with the three-lane segments on both sides of the river.
** The $5 million Milton interchange project at milepost 28 is slated to begin in 2007.
** The new US 35 interchange in Teays Valley is being constructed. Work began in 2003 at a pseudo-flyover-diamond interchange variant. The new US 35 corridor route will extend from Interstate 64 at Teays Valley to Henderson.

The state's long-term construction forecast, for a six-lane interstate from milepost 6 at West Huntington to Charleston and bridge replacements west of milepost 6 to the Kentucky state line will take 30 years to complete at present funding levels and cost more than $325 million.
* Widening began on a segment from Nitro to Dunbar in 2001 and was completed in 2004.
* A small three-lane widening segment began in 2003 and was finished in 2004 near Teays Valley from mileposts 39 to 42.

Miscellanea

* Tolls are still collected on the portion of Interstate 64 which is shared with Interstate 77 on the West Virginia Turnpike between Beckley and Charleston.

* The terrain near Charleston results in the highway crossing the Kanawha River on major bridges no less than "four times".

* Exit 20, the main road to the Huntington Mall and its associated developments along with US 60, was originally constructed as a diamond interchange that served Ona and US 60. The land surrounding the interchange was entirely rural and would not be developed until 1981 when the Huntington Mall was completed. The diamond interchange configuration was reconstructed into a five ramp partial cloverleaf. Exit 20A served US 60 while Exit 20B was for the Huntington Mall.
** By 2001, development consumed both sides of the interstate. On holiday shopping days, traffic would congest at the interchange and cause major backups on the interstate. In 2001, the West Virginia Department of Transportation constructed a new ramp, Exit 20A, that would serve US 60 and the west end of the Huntington Mall. The original Exit 20A ramp was removed. Exit 20B was kept, for the most part, in its current position with a left turn lane added that allowed it to serve the east end of the Huntington Mall, Melody Farm Road, and US 60.

* The portion from the Charleston city limits to the Kentucky state line is signed as the "Cecil H. Underwood Freeway". The portion in the city limits of Charleston is signed as the "Nurse Veteran's Highway".

Exit list

References

# Cahal, Sherman. "Interstate 64." American Byways. 17 July 2005.
# Bridge Work Starts 6-Lane I-64. 1 March 2005. Herald Dispatch. 7 April 2005 [http://www.heralddispatch.com/2005/March/01/LNtop1.htm] .
# Motorists can expect delays as I-64 bridge project begins. 7 April 2005. Herald Dispatch. 7 April 2005 [http://www.heralddispatch.com/2005/April/07/LNtop2.htm] .