W.Va. 14 road slip work near completion

Highway between Pettyville and I-77 expected to open next week

By BRETT DUNLAP
PETTYVILLE — After being closed for almost two years after a major landslide, the section of West Virginia 14 between Mineral Wells and Pettyville is expected to be open next week.

Centerline striping along W.Va. 14, one mile south of the Patriot Center, is scheduled to be done Monday morning, weather permitting, said George Shinsky, West Virginia Division of Highways District Three construction engineer.

This work will complete the repair project, thereby allowing crews to begin removing traffic control devices and open the roadway to traffic by Wednesday, highway officials said Friday.

‘‘We’re hoping we have good enough weather where we will be able to finish up,’’ said Rusty Roten, district manager for WVDOT District Three.

In addition to the striping, Roten said guardrail work needed to be done.

Work has been under way since September on the slip repair along W.Va. 14. A contract totaling $1.1 million was awarded to Mountaineer Grading for the project. Additional expenses and inspections have brought the total cost to more than $1.3 million, highway officials said.

In late 2006, the highway between Mineral Wells and Pettyville was closed after a landslide took out part of the southbound lanes. Uncertainty about the stability of the ground underneath caused all four lanes of that section of road to be closed. Traffic was diverted along the highway’s former two-lane route.

The slip was caused by water that built up in the hillside the highway was constructed on. Dirt slipped out from underneath, causing the portion of the hillside above to follow, Roten said.

Crews had to dig out the dirt and remove the water, officials said.

Roten said a rock buttress was built in the affected area.

The work is to stabilize 1,000 feet along the bottom of the hillside, he said. Crews placed 31,000 cubic yards of rock in the cleared-out section.

Crews then built up the earthen materials and eventually rebuilt and repaved the damaged roadway, officials said.

Roten said the public has tolerated the closing well and the highway department put additional resources into maintenance along the alternate route.

The highway department is developing plans to widen and extend the four-lane highway along W.Va. 14 all the way from Interstate 77 and the Patriot Center, Roten said.

The road has seen an increase in traffic since the area was developed. More commercial developments are planned for the near future. A 65,000-square-foot Bureau of Public Debt facility will be built in the area, Roten said of the need for a wider road.

‘‘It is all in the planning stages right now,’’ he said. ‘‘Construction could be under way by 2010-2011. It is all subject to change.’’