West Virginia advances expressway work
While the West Virginia Department of Transportation awaits funding to complete construction of the Mason-Dixon link of the Mon-Fayette Expressway, work is under way on part of the project to erect a $16 million bridge that leads to nowhere. The Ruble’s Run Bridge, estimated to cost between $15 and $17 million, is under construction in West Virginia near the Pennsylvania/West Virginia line and will help to connect the Fayette County section of the toll road with a few completed miles of the West Virginia section of the road. However, in the middle of the three-mile section is a big gap where the Morgan’s Run Bridge will be constructed.
James Sloan, co-unit leader of the consultant review section in the engineering division of the West Virginia Department of Transportation, said once the Ruble’s Run Road Bridge is complete, the West Virginia section of the road still can’t be opened because there is “nowhere for it to go.”
Sloan said all the design work is complete for West Virginia’s entire 4.1-mile section of the road, which will eventually connect with Interstate 68. When it is all up and running, the entire road will begin at I-68 and extend into Pittsburgh.
Sloan said that the right-of-way acquisition is “90 percent achieved” with some parcels involved in condemnation. Additionally, Sloan said three miles of the road are complete from Goodwin Hill Road to the Pennsylvania state line. However, when the Ruble’s Run Bridge is finished early next year, the funding well will be dry leaving three projects that need to be done. If and when the final three projects are let out to bid, Sloan said they will each take two years to build.
To complete the Mason-Dixon link, Sloan said about $65 million is needed. That amount could fund an interchange at Route 857, the road between the interchange and I-68 and the Morgan’s Run Bridge. Sloan said every year, the West Virginia Division of Highways applies for discretionary funding from the Federal Highway Administration. And for the past few years, the state highway department has been turned down.
Sloan said U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia is also working to secure funding. Fayette County commission chairman Vincent A. Vicites said he is drafting a letter to send to Byrd to stress the importance of completing the West Virginia section and he is hoping to arrange a meeting. Vicites said he would like for the other two commissioners to also sign the letter.
“We need to express to him how much it means to us,” Vicites said.
Tom Gavin, press secretary for Byrd, said Friday that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an appropriations bill Thursday evening with a $323 million allocation for road construction for West Virginia. However, Gavin said that amount does not include a specific allocation for the Mon-Fayette Expressway, noting that how the money will be allocated is at the discretion of the state Department of Transportation.
Gavin said Byrd is in favor of the completion of the Mason Dixon link of the Mon-Fayette Expressway.
“He believes completion of the Mon-Fayette Expressway is an important project for north central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania. It’s an important link for commerce and safety,” Gavin said. “Pennsylvania did a great job on their portion. It’s just a matter of finding the money.”
Locally, the West Virginia leg is important because it will give commuters a straight shot into Morgantown and is expected to alleviate heavy trucks and through-traffic on Route 857, a narrow and winding two-lane road that is prone to accidents, extreme weather conditions and lengthy delays for travelers.
A 6.5-mile section in Fayette County was opened more than two years ago and work is progressing on the Uniontown-to-Brownsville link of the road. The cost of traveling on that section is 75 cents and the West Virginia section will be free of charge. Other sections, including one from Route 51 north into Pittsburgh, are moving forward as well.