ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Belmont County Board of Commissioners authorized infrastructure work that will be an initial step in rebuilding the Interstate 70/Ohio 149 interchange near Morristown.

Commissioners approved a resolution giving consent to Ohio Director of Transportation Pamela Boratyn to complete work on the project BEL-90-9.35 for reconstruction of the interchange. The project involves pavement widening and resurfacing of portions of the I-70 ramps at exit 208, Ohio 149 and Reco Road. It will also include the removal and rebuilding of I-70 bridges over Ohio 149. The bridges will be replaced with longer structures to accommodate the widening of Ohio 149 beneath.

The project will also relocate portions of the Love’s, Pilot and Marathon driveways along Ohio 149. In addition, it will feature construction of new storm sewers, curbs, sidewalks, traffic control devices and appurtenances needed to complete the project.

Overall, the work will cost tens of millions of dollars, but the county’s share will be much smaller.

“I’ll note that the estimated project cost (for the county) is $355,190, which will be paid for from the Capital Improvements Fund N-14 and N-22,” Commissioner J.P. Dutton said.

According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s website, “The Capital Projects Fund provides $10 billion to states, territories, freely associated states, and Tribal governments to fund critical capital projects that enable work, education, and health monitoring in response to the public health emergency (COVID-19). These funds are addressing many challenges laid bare by the pandemic, especially in rural America, Tribal communities, and low- and moderate-income communities, helping to ensure that all communities have access to the high-quality modern infrastructure, including broadband, needed to access critical services.”

Dutton said the project has been needed for a while and he is happy to see the project starting to make progress.

“This is in regards to the work at the interstate interchange in Morristown,” Dutton said. “I appreciate the state coming in and doing some additional work to alleviate some current traffic issues there but future traffic issues as well.”

He added that the unfortunate part of the project is that Belmont County will need to move both water and sewer infrastructure, which will cost $355,190.

“Overall this project is around a $30 million project, but this is the county’s motion here to start the work on the removal of the infrastructure,” Dutton said.

Commissioners are also working with ODOT on another project. Dutton made a second motion to adopt the Final Resolution for the Ohio Department of Transportation project BEL- Court Campus Improvements Project. He added that the estimated limited partnership agreement is for $1,411,366.

“I’ll note that the ODOT grant was received in the amount of $1,417,714, and the estimated LPA share may be adjusted after bids are opened on February 13, 2025,” Dutton said. “Another ODOT motion here, this is in regards to grant funding that the county received for the complete restructuring of the front of the Courthouse campus. It’s a project that we’ve been working on for the past five or six years. We started on the project after the Courthouse Rehabilitation Project, which was the entire exterior of the courthouse building. During that time, some of the plaza was damaged, so we started looking at some repairs there but then decided to look into a bigger project that would refresh the entire front of the courthouse.”

He added that the grant covers 95% of the construction costs, but the county will be responsible for the cost of the designing process.

“It’s going to be a great project that’s going to kick off this spring, and hopefully then that will be something that we won’t have to worry about for decades moving forward,” Dutton said.