MORGANTOWN, W.Va. Members of the Monongalia County Commission are pleased with the improved relationship with the Department of Highways over the last two years and the progress that has been made.
On WAJR’s “Talk of the Town,” commissioner Jeff Arnett said one area to work on is communication. Arnett said they want to eliminate the time lag between the information they receive from the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization (MMMPO) and the information received by DOH District Four leadership from state leaders. In many cases, the MMMPO information is more complete and up-to-date.
“They don’t always get the information until the project is ready to start putting shovels in the ground and they’re scheduling crews,” Arnett said. “That happens at a different level, that’s the indication we got.”
DOH officials did have good news for the residents of Mayfield Road. Allthough widening is out of the question, DOH officials said the potholes will be filled before Memorial Day and ditch cleaning and drainage work will be done during the summer as part of core maintenance operations.
“They’ve indicated they’ll do some patching during the pothole blitz, and they’ll do some ditch work to clean it out,” Arnett said. “But, at this time, there’s not a lot on the schedule, and quite frankly, a lot they feel they can do on that road at this time.”
The addition of Granville traffic lights near the University Towne Center is under review by the DOH and is expected to be completed soon. Arnett said the cost of the work will be split by WestRidge, the Monongalia County Commission, and the town of Granville.
“Given the proximity between that traffic light and the one coming across the bridge over the interstate, we felt it was neccesary to consult with the DOH to coordinate that light, and that’s whats holding us up right now,” Arnett said.
Information about major interstate projects like the proposed Harmony Grove interchange was not available, but officials say the project has cleared a recent environmental hurdle and is still in development. The exit 155 design is also in development but is expected to be made public when the off-interstate bridge work is complete.
“I think that’s the first phase of that project, the bridges,” Arnett said. “So, once the bridges get redone, they can start looking more into implementing that plan for that whole interchange exchange and moving up the corridor to Mylan Park.”
Arnett said staffing issues are something all agencies are dealing with. In short, he said they have to remain reasonable in their expectations until staffing issues are cured.
“I know there’s a constant recruiting effort going on across many different areas in the state and that’s one of the primary ones along with jails and schools that they are looking for people to come work,” Arnett said.