There are several views of parts of the new Menards site currently seeing earthwork on a fairly signficant scale in Bridgeport. Individuals can get a peek of it leaving Interstate 79 northbound to Jerry Dove Drive, at the main entrance to Charles Pointe, and even from the back end of United Hospital Center.

 

Even with the best of vision, one needs to be on site to see just how large the area in question being graded out is. And it is massive.

 

“It is deceptively large unless you’ve had a reason to be on the site,” said Rob Stuart, during a drive through the project area this past week.

 

Stuart, the Genesis Partners Director of Planning and Engineering, has plenty of reasons to be on site on a regular basis. He is one of the key facilitators of the multi-million-dollar first phase of what will eventually be the Charles Pointe Crossing development. The permit for grading alone, according to Bridgeport Community Development Director Andrea Kerr, was $14 million.

 

The key component of the first phase will be the arrival of Menards, a major home improvement retail chain headquartered in the Midwest and making its move east – including more than one location in West Virginia. It is all part of what Genesis Partners announced as “a massive 650,000 square foot retail complex located immediately off of Exit 124 at the intersection of Interstate 79 and West Virginia Route 279 in Bridgeport.”

 

When completed, there will be 67 acres of developable pad as part of the 160-acre project, which includes retail for more than Menards, and four million cubic yards of earthwork. Perhaps the most notable part of the earthwork is across from the entrance to Charles Pointe. The area, which used to be a vertical hillside, is now almost completely down to the roadway.

 

According to Ryan Haws, the project manager with Civil & Environmental Consultants (CEC), to get an idea of how much land is being developed, one need to look no further than the roadway and other infrastructure. The roadway will meander for more than three quarters of a mile (a 4,100 foot, four-lane commercial boulevard), while there will be 1.5 miles of storm and sewer installed.

 

“The is a very large project that starts at the traffic signal and goes to an area along I-79 all the way to the (northbound) rest areas,” said Haws, who singled out Steven A. Cain as the project’s engineer of record.

 

Haws said the work done by the main contractor, locally owned Wolfe’s Excavating, is moving along well. Although exact timelines are not in place, he said work is nearing completion on the earth moving.

 

“They’ve got the Menards pad to grade. The only issue they’ve had to deal with recently is a coal seam just above the entrance,” said Haws. “They are probably 94 to 95 percent done with the earthwork.”

 

The coal did add to the completion time. Haws said, when you add the variable faction of the coal seam and then replacing what is removed with additional material, the work should be done in a month.

 

To get there, Wolfe’s Excavating was basically working every day, 24 hours a day for several months. A representative said as many as 50 workers were on site during that time, while the number is now about half and workdays are more normal hours and five days per week.

 

The pad for Menards is in the middle of the development site. Another pad is also there and it is situated as you come in along State Route 279 and the I-79 off ramp to get there. It will be able to house additional retail, restaurants, or even hotels.

 

“There is a lot of room for development,” said Haws.

 

According to Stuart, if a total buildout took place, development would not necessarily be finished.

 

“There is more land that can be developed,” he said on site, pointing to multiple and thick wooded areas with acreage in nearly every direction.

 

When development, starting with Menards, takes place, utilities should not be a problem. Stuart and Haws both pointed to another local group, Bear Contracting, as handling the utility work involving water, gas, sewage, and telecommunications.

 

Stuart mentioned multiple times how important it is to keep local workers and businesses involved. And some of those contractors will continue to be involved locally as Wolfe’s will handle a near $15 million excavating project at the North Central West Virginia Airport, which is expected to begin by the end of the year.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo show a large portion of one of the development pads with the area to the left of the retaining pond the site of Menards, with additional land stretching further to the left. Bottom photo is to the right of the above photo and buffers the I-79 off ramp and State Route 279. This is for future development and will be ready to host development when the time comes. Photos two through five show working taking place with Ryan Haws of CEC, right, shown with Jason Manning of Wolfe's Excavating in the fourth photo. The fifth photo is by Ben Queen Photography.