BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Final paving and striping are scheduled to begin on a six-lane upgrade of the West Virginia Turnpike in Beckley beginning Sunday, May 15, 2022.
Upgrading the Turnpike to six lanes between mile markers 40 and 48 in the Beckley area was completed in the fall of 2021. However, laying the final finishing layer of pavement and completion of all road striping was put off until this spring to allow full access to the heavily traveled section of highway during the holiday season.
The $140 million widening project was one of the first highway improvement projects rolled out under Gov. Jim Justice’s $2.8 billion Roads to Prosperity highway construction and maintenance program.
Jeff Miller, executive director of the West Virginia Parkways Authority, said final paving a striping of the six-lane section of Turnpike will take place from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. beginning Sunday, May 15, 2022. Construction is expected to take about eight weeks.
Miller said work is being done at night to minimize the impact on the public. However, travelers can expect delays in the area until paving and striping are complete.
The speed limit in the work zone will be 55 mph.
“The speed limit will be strictly enforced,” Miller said. “It’s a very, very busy area, and we just don’t want anything bad to happen to anybody.”
In cooperation with state law enforcement agencies, the West Virginia Department of Transportation and police are cracking down on speeding and other infractions in West Virginia’s work zones. Police are running radar and writing tickets on the Turnpike, interstates, and secondary roads all over the Mountain State.
Last year, there were 889 crashes in West Virginia work zones, killing five people and injuring more than 300. State Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston, P.E., has committed to zero work zone deaths on West Virginia highways this construction season.
