(Photo by Shelley Hanson) LyndCo Inc. of Shadyside worker Scott Conley on Wednesday installs reflective strips on Interstate 70 west outside the Wheeling Tunnel.

WHEELING — The westbound tube of the Wheeling Tunnel will open this evening, nearly two months ahead of schedule. The reopening, announced by the West Virginia Department of Transportation last Friday, will occur sometime after the evening rush hour. Officials were given the go-ahead to reopen the tunnel early after a walk-through inspection tour was completed last week. Crews spent this week finishing minor electrical work and applying roadway striping and pavement markings. Department of Transportation officials said last week they were pleased to open the tunnel early and end more than three years of inconvenience for motorists in the Wheeling area. No additional major projects are scheduled for the tunnel, though officials said they reserve the right to make minor lane closures for small repairs. The westbound tube was closed Feb. 2 after the contract for the work was awarded to Ahern and Associates of South Charleston, W.Va. The westbound project stayed within its $6.7 million budget, which called for all new electrical work, a new closed circuit television system and safety upgrades to the existing system, as well as upgrades to the drainage system, which officials said will stop the dripping water and slippery winter conditions at the west end of the tube. In total, the cost of renovating both sides of the tunnel was about $14.3 million, which includes an out-of-court settlement between WVDOH and the Velotta Co.