By Mike Donovan
HUNTINGTON– At press time a long delayed project to raise the east end of the Robert Cross Memorial Bridge in downtown Huntington was scheduled to begin. It will be necessary to reduce the bridge to a single lane with alternating traffic controlled by traffic signals during most of the construction period. There will also be signals at the Basket Street intersection and the access road to the DPW yard.
The bridge span over the CSX railroad tracks must be raised to a minimum height of 21 feet to accommodate “double stacking” of freight cars—that is, freight containers will be piggy backed on one another.
This is the first phase of a three phase project, and single lane traffic will be necessary during the first two phases. Traffic will be two way after during the third and final phase, but with a reduced lane width.
State Department of Transportation (DOT) Public Affairs Officer Michael Verseckes said the project should be completed by next June. The overall project involves raising a total of seven bridges in the hilltowns.
