Morgantown Industrial Park Access Bridge

[Frank Gmeindl]

This Wednesday, April 17th 5 - 8 pm, WVDOH will hold a public workshop at the Westwood Middle School Gym, 670 River Rd. to collect comments on the Environmental Assessment for a new bridge that they’re planning to build from the Morgantown Industrial Park across the Mon River to connect with US 119.  I plan to attend and present the attached letter with my comments.  I hope you will attend and present comments, too.  If you have trouble opening the attached file, following is the content.  Feel free to use it however you like.

Thank you for accepting public input on subject project.  I recommend the No Build Option.  The Environmental Assessment does not seem to include the "Harmony Grove Interchange Only" as part of the No Build analysis.  The Harmony Grove Interchange may adequately serve the privately owned Morgantown Industrial Park with less environmental impact on Morgantown residents than the proposed Bridge over the Monongahela River.

 

The Westover Bridge (US 19) provides adequate access across the Monongahela River to US 119 and I-68 for residents of Morgantown.  The resources for the proposed bridge would benefit Morgantown residents more if they were applied to upgrading and maintaining: 

US 19 between Morgantown and Fairmont;

CR-45 between Morgantown and US 19 at Arnettsville;

WV 7 between Brookhaven and I-68 and US 119;

WV 100 between Westover and Maidsville.

 

All of these roads have seen decades of neglect and are damaging rather than serving the communities through which they pass.  They also present a sorry picture to visitors to our wonderful city. 

 

In the past year, US 19 was beautifully repaved all the way from the PA state line to Morgantown.  It is already deteriorating due to lack of shoulder maintenance and apparently inadequate design and construction of the roadway edges.

 

Over a period of approximately 15 to 5 years ago, WV 100 between Maidsville and US 19 was repaved in 3 stages and was smooth from end-to-end for the first time in at least 50 years.  Now, it is rapidly returning to its former poor condition due to poor drainage, poor shoulder maintenance and heavy truck traffic.  The bumps and cracks that I painfully remember from traveling it frequently over the past 50 yeas are all returning, indicating inadequate engineering in the first place.  WV 100 between Westover and Maidsville has been like minefield for as long as I can remember.

 

I encourage WVDOT to upgrade and maintain existing infrastructure before proceeding with a bridge project of questionable merit for the citizens of Morgantown.

4ank