WESTOVER — Westover’s road work-weary drivers may want to enjoy a relatively smooth and hassle-free Holland Avenue while they can.
The cones, delays and detours are very likely returning in the spring.
During the most recent meeting of Westover City Council, project engineer Doug Smith said the utility work below Holland Avenue has wrapped up and the temporary road surface is in place.
“This is to be able to get us a smooth path through the winter and into spring, when the actual restoration is to occur,” Smith said.
Based on conversations with West Virginia Division of Highways District 4 leadership, Smith said his understanding is the historically problematic portion of Holland – between the city line near the Joseph Bartolo Memorial (Westover) Bridge and Paula’s on top of the hill – will be pulled up along with the underlying bricks and completely reconstructed in 2026.
Smith said the pavement along that stretch will be a fiber-reinforced material that resists the kind of washboard effect that results from both subsurface issues and heavy trucks decelerating on hot asphalt.
That section is just one portion of a larger project that, according to previous commentary from DOH District 4 Manager Earl Gaskins, will include a new surface deck for the Westover Bridge and a new surface for U.S. 19 (Holland Avenue and Fairmont Road) from the bridge on one end of the city to the interstate on the other.
“They want to go from the bridge all the way to Fairmont Road and down to the interstate is what he’s telling me. That is my understanding from the discussion that we had early in the spring. That’s part of the reason that they opted to not put any effort into doing it this fall was that next year was going to be a huge project,” Smith said, explaining he would anticipate the work taking at least the entire summer.
“So, we’ll get to be cussed out for another year? Thanks, Doug,” Councilor Alli Jackson half-joked.
In related news, the ancillary repairs to utilities along West Park Avenue are scheduled to conclude with paving next week.
With the city’s underground portion of the Holland Avenue project done, attention now turns to replacement of the city’s primary pump station, located at the bottom of Dents Run.
Smith said that work is expected to begin in the coming week or so.
The projects, financed together, constitute just under $6 million, with Blue Gold Development LLC taking on the Holland Avenue sewer and stormwater project for $2,963,637 and Green River Group LLC gearing up to replace the lift station for $2,958,025.
