MONONGALIA COUNTY, W.Va. — The state Department of Highways and crews from Triton Construction, Inc., repaired a hole in the I-79 southbound bridge deck in southern Monongalia County in less than 24 hours.
On WAJR’s “Talk of the Town,” Chief Engineer of Operations for the DOH Joe Pack said the hole occurred in a section of I-79 that was already part of a $62.5 million bridge rehabilitation project awarded in 2022. The severity of the situation was eased slightly by having a contractor and equipment already onsite when the concrete patch failed.
The hole was initially discovered in the early morning hours of Monday, and the road was reopened by about 11:30 P.M. Monday.
“Once reviewed, it was determined it was not going to be appropriate for traffic to continue to drive on it,” Pack said. “If we had let traffic drive on it, the failure would have just grown worse.”
Pack said the failure was caused by repeated freeze and thaw cycles with recent erratic weather patterns and a warm fall. Water is the top enemy to pavement and bridges because a small amount can create a minor issue that can quickly develop into a road-closing problem as it did here.
“Water can easily penetrate into a crack, and through the freeze and thaw process, that crack grows, weakening the surface and eventually the entire bridge deck,” Pack said. “And that’s what we saw.”
When the hole was discovered, one lane of the interstate was already closed, eliminating the option to close the lane and keep the highway open. Once the highway was closed, crews were able to quickly repair the hole and then turn their attention to other problems that could develop into major issues.
“The contractor was able to mobilize their crews to do a repair to the hole,” Pack said. “While we had the lane closed and the traffic detoured, we were able to fix other holes that could occur later.”
Pack said water is the top enemy for roads, whether paved or just a gravel or stone surface. The main purpose of the annual ditching program is to save maintenance and repair dollars by getting the water away from roads and bridges.
“Water is our enemy,” Pack said. “Water, as much as it is a life saver, is a product that deteriorates road surfaces and road bases.”
Pack also issued a caution to motorists driving through construction zones. He urges motorists to put the phone down, keep their hands on the steering wheel, and pay attention.
“Vehicles weighing thousands of pounds driving beside them at high rates of speed with people looking down at a phone—it’s a scary situation, Pack said. “We practically beg people just to give us the ability to do the work so we can go home at the end of the day.”