MORGANTOWN, W.Va. More than ten years after the first steps were taken to improve Mileground Road, the project has been completed.
Now, the stretch between the 705 roundabout and Donna Avenue, the entrance to Northpointe Plaza, is expanded to five freshly paved lanes with a center turn lane.
The June completion also meets a commitment made by District 4 DOH officials in May that the project would be completed before the start of WVU football in August, according to Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom.
“I do want to thank the DOH for sticking with us for these many years to get it done,” Bloom said. “But I really want to thank the businesses that are on the ground that have stayed and put up with it.”
The project was first proposed in 2012. Following the passage of the Roads to Prosperity Program in 2017, the project was included with a budget of $10 million. More delays were encountered in late 2019 due to utility relocations and right-of-way issues in the courts.
“Ten years maybe? From the beginning, starting it, stopping it, then COVID hit,” Bloom said. “I know people never thought there would be a light at the end of the tunnel, but there is, and it’s amazing.”
The completion of that section of road now connects the 705 roundabout, completed in 2012, with the improved Easton Hill intersection that was completed in 2017.
“It will take a little for people to learn how to use the middle turning lane, so please take your time, go slowly, and enjoy the road,” Bloom said.
Officials said some drainage and finish work will continue, but the road is open.