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WBOY 12 News
West Virginia Division of Highways discusses new bridge plans over the Monongahela River
By Allen Clayton,
13 days ago
WESTOVER, W.Va. (WBOY) — The West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) has unveiled a proposal to construct a new bridge over the Monongahela River to connect the Morgantown Industrial Park with the southern part of Morgantown and is looking to educate the public on the project.
On Wednesday night, the WVDOH held a public informational workshop at the Westwood Middle School gymnasium, and those in attendance were able to speak to WVDOH officials about the project and give their input.
The project was originally announced in October and seeks to connect the park with the area of Scott Avenue and Grafton Road with the estimated cost sitting around $80 million.
Map of preferred alternative route #3 that will also connect SR 73 (Smithtown Rd.) with US 119 (Courtesy WVDOT)
Map of preferred alternative route #3 near the planned Harmony Grove Exit (Courtesy WVDOT)
Map of preferred alternative route #3 near the planned Harmony Grove Exit (Courtesy WVDOT)
Map of preferred alternative route #3 near the planned Harmony Grove Exit (Courtesy WVDOT)
“This route is immensely important because the trucks right now on River Road and as everybody knows it’s a narrow road. It is unstable. It’s confined by a lot of development,” WVDOH Chief Engineer of Development Jason Foster said. “So, this will get the trucks out of that equation. It also removes the trucks from the Westover area which is very congested.”
The WVDOH gave a handout to those in attendance which said that environmental assessments have already been evaluated for the project alongside three-build alternatives which have all been put together in a preliminary impact analysis. A tentative project schedule was also included in the handout which states that construction of the connection could start as early as Winter 2024 or Spring 2025.
“This was extremely accelerated because of the complaints on River Road. We are really concerned on public safety,” Foster added.
A sister project to this bridge development project is the Harmony Grove interchange, which WVDOH officials said will not interfere with one another in any way. They also said that both Gov. Jim Justice and state senators have endorsed both projects and that they are moving forward.
WVDOH officials said that because the bridge project has a quicker timeline for completion on the development side they can move along more quickly.
If you were unable to attend the meeting but would still like to make a public comment regarding the bridge connection, you can do so here.
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