Crews were working Tuesday on the roundabout outside Williamstown near I-77. In the evenings, the road is open to traffic. During the day, as crews continue to do work around the site, access is limited. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

WILLIAMSTOWN — The roundabout in Williamstown is a step closer to completely opening as the new road will be open in the evenings.

The Williamstown roundabout, which has been in planning for seven years, is part of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s Roads to Prosperity program.

For years, state and local officials have talked about creating a roundabout near Interstate 77 at West Virginia 14 and Highland Avenue and West Virginia 31 and Williamstown Pike to increase safety and relieve traffic congestion.

The Williamstown Police Department posted on its Facebook page Monday, just after 3 p.m., that the “roundabout is open and traffic is flowing smoothly.”

Police Chief Shawn Graham said the roundabout was opened at the end of the workday on Monday, throughout the evening and overnight

Crews were working Tuesday on the roundabout outside Williamstown near I-77. In the evenings, the road is open to traffic. During the day, as crews continue to do work around the site, access is limited. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

Work is still being done during the day around the site, which will require some access to be closed off and traffic guided through while crews are working.

”Where we are at now is, it is going to be open in the evening,” Graham said. ”In the daytime they still have workers doing work around the roundabout.”

Department of Transportation District Three Engineer Justin Smith could not be reached for comment.

Graham said there appears much work remains around the site.

”During the day, there will be workers around it and partially closed down,” he said. ”In the evenings it will be completely open.

”(WVDOT) have not given me a completion date yet.”

Mayor Paul Jordan has also not heard anything from the highway officials.

”At this point, they have not reached out to me,” he said. ”No one has officially opened or told me it was open.”

Like others, he has seen people going through it.

”I know people are using it,” Jordan said.

However, he has not received any confirmation it is officially completed. The mayor also has seen the crews at work during the day.

He is planning to reach out to different officials today to see what the status is on the project.

”They may be trying to figure out if there are any problems or soft spots where they need to do additional work,” Jordan said. ”No one has reached out and told us they are complete yet.”