MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Monongalia County Commission has now formally approved an endorsement of an economic development project that has been in the works for close to 40 years.
The commission unanimously approved a resolution that supports the development of the I-68 Energy Manufacturing Corridor during their regular meeting Wednesday. The endorsement comes a week after an announcement from Monongalia County Delegate Joe Statler that announced that a statewide collaboration has been in the works for several weeks to break ground on the project that has been discussed among state leaders for several years.
“The extension of Interstate 68 has never been more important than now,” said Commission President Jeff Arnett. “Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Monongalia County Commission fully supports and urges the Trump White House, Governor Patrick Morrisey, the West Virginia State Legislature, and representatives to do everything in their power to secure funding.”
The I-68 Energy Manufacturing Corridor currently involves the extension of I-68 from I-79 near Morgantown to WV Route 2 at Kent, WV, across the Ohio River. The work would extend that portion of the road into parts of Ohio and connect parts of Clarington and parts of I-77 near Caldwell. With a chance to use the improved roadways to support energy and economic development around Monongalia County, members of the commission continued to express open support that was apparent during their last meeting in August.
“The project to extend Interstate 68 has the potential to accelerate private and governmental revenues and create thousands of jobs from the Shale Crescent,” said Arnett.
As of Wednesday, the Monongalia County Commission joins the Marion County Commission in support of the I-68 Energy Manufacturing Corridor, which approved a similar resolution back in mid-August. This is also separate from ongoing conversations between Delegate Statler and the West Virginia Department of Highways, as well as representatives from the office of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. As conversations continue between parties from multiple states, members of the Mon County Commission feel more than comfortable supporting a project that has been discussed since 1997.
“The extension of Interstate 68 from its junction with I-79 near Morgantown, WV, to WV-Route 2 at Kent, WV, has been sought after (for a while),” said Arnett. “Whereas, the Shale Crescent, USA region, and Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania are the premier low-cost manufacturing regions in the world.”
Commissioner Tom Bloom also reported during the closing minutes of the meeting that he plans to submit a proposal from engineering firm Alpha Associates to the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization (MMMPO) to address plans for Grumbein’s Island on the West Virginia University downtown campus. In the proposal, plans include an option to redirect traffic underneath the heavily used pedestrian crosswalk, with what was a $20 million price tag back in 2011. Understanding that the cost estimates would need to be greatly adjusted to even be moved into a development phase, Bloom still feels the project is worthy of consideration by the MMMPO.
“It’s a concept where they had to move the plaza and build the road underneath it to separate the pedestrians (from the traffic),” said Bloom. “But that was $15-$20 million back then, can only imagine what it is now, but it was a very informative meeting.”