MORGANTOWN,. W.Va. — Commissioners in Monongalia County have agreed to jointly fund a drainage project on the edge of city limits, heard concerns about wayward trucks on River Road, and thanked the DOH for recent repairs on I-68 eastbound.
Commissioners have agreed to jointly fund drainage improvement for the proposed McCullough Avenue development to add 30 three-bedroom townhomes. The improvements are valued at $405,000 and are being put in place to help relieve flooding issues in the Tanglewood, Acorn Village, and Park Hills areas as the area has grown over the years. Metro Properties will contribute $80,000; the Morgantown Utility Board and the Monongalia County Commission will split the remaining cost equally.
“This project, along with the Popenoe Run project that’s progressing in that same general area, will hopefully address some of the stormwater issues we’ve had there over the past few years,” Monongalia County Commission President Jeff Arnett said.
Monongalia County Volunteer Fire Association President Mickey Rinehart explained a growing problem of heavy trucks from the Morgantown Industrial Park getting lost and stuck on narrow portions of River Road.
“They’re using Google Maps and printing maps off of the computer; they’re not even using a GPS that is suitable for trucks, and I think that’s where they’re getting into trouble,” Rinehart said. “They’re not using a trucking-capable GPS.”
Rinehart said an accident was narrowly avoided recently when a truck got stuck and a motorist coming around a blind curve nearly collided with it. Rinehart explained they have talked to MECCA 911 officials about the problem, and additional signs have been placed in the area, but truck operators either don’t see them or are disregarding them.
“When that truck gets hung up in the turn, we can’t get to the fire department, and we can’t get our trucks out for the call; it would be a bad situation,” Rinehart said.
Commissioner Tom Bloom has served as the point person for issues involving the DOH and pledged to make contact with the department for additional signage.
“We’ve gone through all the businesses, and we’ve tried to explain to the companies,” Bloom said. “But maybe if we talk to the DOH about some signage, there’s something they could do.”
Commission President Jeff Arnett praised the Monongalia County Sheriff Todd Forbes and his team for their hard work with the recovery of the vehicle and body over the weekend. He also thanked the state Division of Highways for taking advantage of the interstate closure during the recovery to make repairs to the west abutment of the I-68 bridge over Cheat Lake.
“I thought that was very opportunistic and a very good thing to do,” Arnett said. “They didn’t have to flag it or put cones up; they took the opportunity to fix that problem on the abutment, so thank you for that.”