MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Two projects that will support the relocation of the Morgantown Utility Board’s (MUB) Van Voorhis Road water and sewer lines have been given the green light.
To account for the West Virginia Department of Highways (DOH) expansion project expected to begin in 2024, MUB board members approved the contract for the relocation of the sewer lines to Green River Group and the construction of water line pipe by horizontal drill to Snider and Son. The bids for the projects account for a combined cost of approximately $623,000.
“The construction area will extend from Chestnut Ridge Road to West Run Road,” said MUB General Manager Mike McNulty. “As part of the project, sections of the existing water and sanitary sewer mains will need to be relocated, and some will even be upgraded, and the DOH will absorb those costs,” he said.
The costs are included as part of the DOH’s $8 million Van Voorhis Road widening project.
The relocation of the Van Voorhis Road water and sewer lines is the most costly of the projects, valued at approximately $522,000. This will include the replacement of about 1,100 feet of sewer line and around 1,600 feet of water line and redirect it towards Interstate 79 north to Exit 155. This will allow the DOH to move the project forward without hitting active lines that could affect residents. The project will also run concurrently with work with the DOH and the other project that was out to bid.
“Our portion of the project, you’re probably talking two or three months, probably two months,” said MUB Chief Engineer Rich Rogers, referring to how long it would take to complete the first project with a bid approved.
In the second bid that was awarded to Snider and Son, an additional 400 feet of water line will be installed via horizontal drill at a cost of $101,000. The bid was selected out of three options and will install waterlines in areas where that technique of installation is required. The project is scheduled to take about the same amount of time as the other project, with a bid approved.
“As an additional contract, you have 400 feet of 8-inch HDPE water line that will be installed by the directional drill method,” said McNulty. “And then about 60 feet of 36-inch steel casing by bore and jack,” he said.
These projects are expected to be completed around the same time that the DOH will be working on the Van Voorhis Road expansion project. With both bids accepted, McNulty told the MUB board that work will begin on both projects as soon as the DOH is ready to make the next steps for the Van Voorhis Road widening project. The hope is that work will begin no later than summer 2024.
“It’s a DOH project, I think it’s going to happen this spring sometime, so (somewhere around) spring or summer,” said Rogers.