WHEELING, W.Va. -- The detour signs are up and the detour-bound drivers said they're ready.

"Yeah I have to leave a little bit earlier so I can get on [Interstate] 470 and miss the tunnels," said driver Dean Childers.

Drivers going eastbound on Interstate 70 planning to travel past Wheeling should exit onto Interstate 470 east at St. Clairsville. Drivers wanting to continue east on I-70 to Wheeling will be detoured through downtown Wheeling and back onto I-70.

All signs point to the eastbound Wheeling tunnel closing Wednesday, so drivers like Dave Winston are setting back their alarm clocks on Tuesday night.

"I go [to work] in the morning around 6:00, so I've got to leave the house around 5:30," Winston said.

Neither the Division of Highways nor the contractor have been able to tell NEWS9 exactly what time the contractor will block off the road with orange barrels. Drivers said they're not taking any chances of getting to work late tomorrow morning. Many of them have their detours planned out.

"If I go that way, I’ll probably go down through South Wheeling and up around Route 2," said driver Norm King of Martins Ferry.

"I’m probably going to do the detour, go up on the Suspension Bridge and go up and around," said Winston.

While the current contract calls for tile and other work to be completed on the eastbound side, electrical work will require the closure of the westbound tube for approximately two months between the hours of 8:30 p.m. and a6:00 a.m.

However, no scheduled date has been set for the westbound closure, according to a news release posted on the West Virginia Department of Transportation's Web site.

Stay with NEWS9 for continuing coverage and traffic alerts once the eastbound tunnel closes.

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