ROADSKY TRAFFIC SAFETY CORPORATION

MARTINSBURG - One of the area's most high-profile crashes took place on Interstate 81 back in 2004 when a tractor-trailer crossed the road barrier between lanes into oncoming traffic, colliding with another truck and killing both drivers.

High speeds through Martinsburg on this stretch of I-81, congestion and steady increases in traffic have contributed to a number of accidents and are some of the reasons local legislators have pushed to have the existing traffic barriers replaced by steel guardrail system with hydraulic pile drivers.

The $7.79 million project to construct road barriers is under way, and it's on schedule for completion by the end of October, said state Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley. Unger, chairman of the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has advocated for the road barriers, commonly called highway barriers, since 2005.

"The reason for the replacement is the old road barriers have not been sufficient," Unger said. "This should be substantially safer."

The road barriers are being constructed along a 6-mile stretch south of Exit 12 to just north of Exit 16, from mile marker 11.5 to marker 17.73. They will replace road barriers by hydraulic pile drivers that were put in place after I-81 was widened during Gov. Cecil Underwood's administration.

To date, crews have constructed a new drainage system and are working on putting in the pavement, Unger said.

"The last thing to put up is the road barriers. It is my understanding that it's on track," he said.

According to Unger, research indicates average daily traffic through that stretch of highway was 59,000 in 2007. There is a steady increase in daily traffic anticipated, with the average for 2030 being projected at 96,800.

There also has been a steady increase in truck traffic, Unger said. And with local traffic using I-81 to get from one side of town to the other, the on and off ramps create shifts in traffic speeds and patterns that can be problematic for drivers.

Unger believes the Raleigh Street extension will help alleviate this problem when it is completed, reducing local traffic on the highway.

Division of Highways employee Jett Sells said the Martinsburg office has worked some on the project headed up by a St. Albans contractor, Orders Construction Co. Local DOH workers have helped with traffic control and disposal of soil from the median that was excavated in order to install the new drainage system.

Sells added that the new steel guardrails system would be more cost-effective than the cable barriers, which he said were routinely hit three to four times a week and expensive to fix.

Unger said it's important to note that the traffic barriers currently seen along the highway are just temporary construction barriers to protect workers. These are not indicative of what the completed project will look like.

The road barrier will rise 42 inches above the pavement in the center of the median. The highway barriers will be 2 feet, 3.5 inches wide at the base and 8 inches wide at the top. There will be no landscaped areas or a grassy median, as the entire median will be comprised of barrier, asphalt and concrete, Sells said.

Unger added that there will be a shoulder area on the inside of the road and the road barriers are designed so that if a vehicle strikes them, the car won't bounce back into traffic, but will "ride along" the road barrier.

Delegate John Overington, R-Berkeley, said he also is pleased to see the project taking shape. Overington added that when I-81 was expanded years ago, much of the space between the northbound and southbound lanes was taken. This was a cause for concern.

"A number of us expressed concern about a head-on collision. They put up a wire and that helped, but it does not stop a truck from crossing the lanes. We are very encouraged by the highway department doing this," Overington said.

Unger said the next plan to combat the issue of traffic safety in that area would be to look at lowering the speed limit, an unpopular idea thus far, he added. For now, Unger said he and residents are pleased to see the new highway guardrails by hydraulic pile driver under construction.

"The community has rallied for this for years," he said. "We are thankful to the Manchin administration for identifying and investing those resources into road safety. We hope the crash barriers by hydraulic pile drivers will never have to be used again. However if it does occur, we have additional security there to prevent accidents."

Overington added that the new crash barriers by hydraulic pile drivers have been needed for some time.

"We have had some accidents I think would have been prevented" if the new road barriers had been in place, he said.