Waterline from 1886 will take one year to replace in Wheeling

Before the streets get beautified, city officials are taking the opportunity to rip out a problematic line in downtown

Posted: Mar 3, 2021 / 12:47 PM EST / Updated: Mar 3, 2021 / 11:04 PM EST

WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) — Coming Monday, March 8, a one-year project will start in downtown Wheeling.

An over 100-year-old water main will be replaced along with changing out the water services from the mainline to each building on the sectioned streets.

Here’s the route: 16^th to Main to Eoff, Market from 16^th to 10th, and then Main from 9^th to 16^th.

This underground work was tacked on, so as to get it done before new streets and sidewalks are added on top through the approved Streetscape Project.

The waterline in Main and Market Street that was installed in 1886 needs to be replaced at this time. The line is still functioning and is in decent condition, but it is old and it does break. When it does break, it causes significant problems.
In advance of the $25-M investment that the state of West Virginia is going to be putting into the Streetscape Project, we thought it was a good time to replace that line. Hopefully it will last another 150 years.
Robert Herron, Wheeling City Manager

As the project moves up the street, buildings will experience disruptions to services, but the City Manager says there will not be an overall water outage.

Construction detours could happen in the coming months.