The BIG Project Is Moving Along - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

The BIG Project Is Moving Along

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The political landscape has changed throughout Raleigh County from last week's Primary Election, but in Beckley the actual landscape is progressing with the Beckley Intermodal Gateway set to be completed in one month.

There are still tasks to be completed to finish the BIG project. Gates and fencing around the project still have be erected in places along with additional signage and landscape.

Beckley Mayor Emmett Pugh predicts all to go well up until the completion. The biggest halt on construction was at the beginning of the project.

"We had initially thought we have about 1,000 feet of vertical drilling to set piles on for the buildings and it ended up needing to be 7,000 feet that continued to have our cost run over. So we have a bout a million dollars in cash in the project, on the basis of about a 20 million dollar project so that's good," said Pugh.

Pugh said once the initial construction is finished traffic along the project will have to be re-routed.

"We'll be going back to Leslie Gates Place and replace medians and two-way traffic will be re-established," said Pugh.

The second phase of the project isn't funded and Mayor Pugh said it would be hard to get it to happen. He said it may happen later on.

The second phase would put office space on top of the parking garage.