I-64 Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Westbound I-64 In W.Va. Reopens After Chemical Spill

An interstate highway in West Virginia reopened Wednesday, a day after a tractor-trailer carrying a hazardous material overturned.

The truck rolled over early Tuesday on westbound Interstate 64 in Charleston. No injuries were reported. About 600 gallons of an acetone-based material spilled, destroying the highway’s pavement, the state Department of Transportation said in a news release

A contractor repaved the site. Westbound lanes of I-64 at the split with I-77 were shut down for more than 24 hours before being reopened late Wednesday morning.

“The thing that is most impressive to me is how everyone involved worked so well together,” said state Division of Highways District 1 Manager Arlie Matney.

The Division of Highways, Charleston’s police and fire departments, emergency services, the state Division of Environmental Protection and West Virginia Paving “worked seamlessly to get the road closed, set up detours, clean up and dispose of damaged asphalt and repave and restripe the section of damaged roadway,” Matney said.

Work Continuing On New W.Va. Bridge On I-64

Work continues this week on a new Interstate 64 bridge in West Virginia, the state Department of Transportation said.

Contractors will continue hoisting bridge girders into place over West Virginia Highway 817. They began the work last Monday, hoisting one girder from a barge in the Kanawha River and another from the western shore and bolting them together in midair, the department said.

The girders will be lifted above Highway 817, and traffic will be disrupted at times during the week.

The new Donald M. Legg Memorial Bridge carries I-64 over the Kanawha River between the Nitro and St. Albans interchanges.

The $244.4 million project will widen 3.8 miles of the road to six lanes. Between Nitro and St. Albans, the road will be widened to eight lanes.

The plan is to build a second bridge north of the existing bridge and eventually move westbound traffic to the new bridge and use the existing bridge for eastbound traffic, the department said.

The new bridge is expected to be completed in the summer of 2024.

Plans Unveiled for Space Beneath Charleston's I-64 Overpass

A Charleston group is proposing development opportunities for the space beneath the Interstate 64 overpass near downtown Charleston.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that last week, Charleston Main Streets West Side program director Steven Romano presented to the Strong Neighborhood Task Force a set of conceptual renderings for Gallery 64, a long-term project to transform the area into a hub for various public uses.

Romano says possibilities include RV parking, rain gardens, sports courts and a farmers’ market. Lighting would be increased in the area through art installations.

Romano says a path could be built between two areas that aren’t currently connected: Washington Street and Kanawha Boulevard.

City planners don’t yet have a timeline for construction. Romano says the next step is making the public aware of Gallery 64.

I-64 Reopened After Tanker Accident

Traffic is moving again on Interstate 64 in Cabell County 12 hours after a tanker-truck accident.

The West Virginia Department of Transportation says in a statement that both eastbound and westbound sections reopened on Friday afternoon.

Media outlets report the tanker rolled over at about 3:15 a.m. between the Milton and Barboursville exits, forcing traffic to be diverted off the interstate.

Milton Volunteer Fire Chief Brent Taylor says the tanker was carrying propane, which didn’t leak and was transferred to another vehicle.

Taylor says the driver of the tanker was taken to a hospital with undisclosed injuries.

Multistate Crime Spree Leaves Two Dead, Three Wounded

UPDATED: January 2, 2015, 1:33 PM

Authorities say a father and son’s multistate crime spree left a North Carolina couple dead and their home torched before the suspects were caught after a New Year’s Day shootout that wounded two police officers in West Virginia.

West Virginia State Police spokesman Lt. Michael Baylous said Friday that the suspects are 21-year-old Eric Campbell and 54-year-old Edward Campbell from Texas.

Police say officers pulled over a truck and an SUV around 4 p.m. Thursday on a highway outside Lewisburg.

Police say the truck’s driver opened fire, wounding both officers. Police say suspect Edward Campbell was the shooter and also was injured.

Authorities took both men into custody and say two recently deceased bodies were inside the truck.

The officers and suspect were hospitalized with injuries that weren’t life-threatening.

Police say the officers involved were Lt. Jeromy Dove, a 16-year-old veteran and patrolman Nicholas Sams, about three weeks out of training.

Both were wearing bulletproof vests and are on temporary administrative leave.

Original Post: January 2, 2015, 10:56 AM

Police have identified two men they say shot at officers who pulled them over and found two bodies in one of their stolen vehicles.

West Virginia State Police spokesman Lt. Michael Baylous said Friday that the suspects are 21-year-old Eric Campbell and 54-year-old Edward Campbell from Texas. Police have said the two reported that they’re father and son.

State Police say officers pulled over a truck and an SUV around 4 p.m. Thursday on a highway outside Lewisburg.

Police say the truck’s driver opened fire, wounding both officers. Police say suspect Edward Campbell was the shooter and also was injured.

Authorities took both men into custody and say two recently deceased bodies were inside the truck.

An emergency dispatch official says the officers and suspect were hospitalized with injuries that weren’t life-threatening.

State Police didn’t identify the victims, but North Carolina’s Granville County Sheriff Brindell B. Wilkins Jr. told Raleigh TV station WRAL that the bodies were those of Jerome Faulkner, 73, and his wife, Dora Faulkner, 62.

Lt. Baylous confirmed the identities of the two police officers involved in the shooting as Lt. Jeromy Dove and Officer Nicholas Sams.