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Interstate 70 in West Virginia

Interstate 70 (I-70) is a portion of the US Interstate Highway System that runs from near Cove Fort, Utah, at a junction with I-15 to Baltimore, Maryland. It crosses the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia through Ohio County and the city of Wheeling. This segment is the shortest of all states through which I-70 passes, crossing West Virginia for only 14.45 miles (23.26 km). The Fort Henry Bridge carries I-70 from Wheeling Island across the Ohio River and into downtown Wheeling before the freeway enters the Wheeling Tunnel. I-470, a southerly bypass of Wheeling and the lone auxiliary Interstate Highway in West Virginia, is intersected near Elm Grove. Before crossing into Pennsylvania, I-70 passes The Highlands, a major shopping center in the panhandle, and the Bear Rocks Lake Wildlife Management Area. On average, between 27,000 and 53,000 vehicles use the freeway every day.

Route description
Entering West Virginia from Ohio, I-70 crosses the western channel of the Ohio River onto Wheeling Island, the most populated island along the Ohio River. The freeway passes above a light commercial zone and has an interchange with Zane Street. US 40 and US 250 become concurrent with I-70 at this interchange, before traveling east toward the Fort Henry Bridge. Elevated above the city of Wheeling, a complex interchange provides access to the downtown area and Benwood. Traveling eastbound, US 40 departs the freeway at this interchange and becomes concurrent with West Virginia Route 2 (WV 2) northbound. US 40 and WV 2 travel through downtown Wheeling on a one-way pair, the southbound lanes passing under I-70 and the northbound lanes passing over I-70. Immediately east of the tunnel, a directional T interchange provides access to WV 2 southbound near homes north of the highway. US 250 departs I-70 at this interchange. A stub ramp present at this interchange would have carried WV 2 north of I-70 had it been extended. Between the directional T interchange and I-470, I-70 is paralleled by the eastern branch of the Greater Wheeling Trail. and intersects Cabela Drive (County Route 65, CR 65), which provides access to The Highlands, a large shopping destination. Past The Highlands, I-70 continues northeast though woodlands to an interchange with the Dallas Pike (CR 41). I-70 passes north of the Bear Rocks Lake Wildlife Management Area before crossing the Pennsylvania state line into Washington County southwest of West Alexander. Out of the 10 states I-70 passes through, the segment in West Virginia is the shortest. By comparison, the longest stretch of I-70 through a single state is the segment in Colorado. These counts are of the portion of the freeway in West Virginia and are not reflective of the entire Interstate. As part of the Interstate Highway System, the entire route is listed on the National Highway System, a system of roads that are important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility. ==History==
History
The first recorded road to reach what was then Wheeling, Virginia, was a post road linking it with Morgantown, to the southeast. The post road was completed in 1794. The National Road was the first interstate road that served Wheeling, linking the town to Cumberland, Maryland, in the east. The National Road started construction under order of then President Thomas Jefferson in 1806 and was completed in 1818. In 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was established, and the National Road through the Northern Panhandle was designated US 40. US 40 linked Vallejo, California, in the west to Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the east. Passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 formed the Interstate Highway System, designating as I-70 a then unconstructed controlled-access highway across the panhandle by 1957. Since it was constructed as a separate controlled-access highway, much of I-70 is separate from the old National Road and US 40. WVDOT began obtaining right-of-way for I-70 in 1961. The Wheeling Tunnel, linking downtown Wheeling and the Fort Henry Bridge to the eastern suburb of Elm Grove, was completed in 1967 at a cost of $7 million (equivalent to $ in ). The bridge that carries I-70 from the Ohio state line onto Wheeling Island was completed in 1968. Construction of I-70 across the panhandle was almost completed in September 1971, with only one of the two carriageways completed in the final segment of freeway near Elm Grove. Then-Governor Arch A. Moore Jr. and Senator Jennings Randolph were present for the opening of this $17-million (equivalent to $ in ) portion of freeway. The second carriageway was completed by the end of 1971. The Wheeling Tunnel was closed for reconstruction work in 2007, 2008, and 2010, causing motorists who wished to travel through on I-70 to detour. The two detour routes were city streets in downtown Wheeling and the I-470 loop. After opposition from the NAACP, which represented the affected Wheeling Hill residents, the suggestions were dropped. The cost of completing the tunnel replacement project was estimated at between $60 and $80 million. The total $13.7-million cost of the tunnel reconstruction project was over double the original bid of $5.7 million, due in part to the work delays. ==Exit list==
Exit list
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Source: Wikipedia ↗
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