KINGWOOD — Roads again dominated the discussion at Monday’s Preston County Commission meeting.
Recently, commissioners invited the other five counties in the Division of Highways District 4 to meet and discuss the condition of roads in the district and what action to take.
Only Monongalia County responded, County Administrator Kathy Mace said. One Marion County resident contacted Preston to say he hopes his commission participates. No date has been set yet for the meeting.
Mace presented commissioners with a list of DOH work planned in the county this year, including:
- Paving W.Va. 7 from near Sisler Street, Kingwood, to the intersection with W.Va. 26 and streetscape from WesBanco on Main Street, Kingwood, to Price Street.
- Streetscape Terra Alta to make sidewalks ADA compliant, with paving next year of W.Va. 7.
- Paving .5 mile of the Old Factory Road, which runs from Gregg’s Pharmacy to the Aurora Pike.
- Paving 1.26 miles of Little Sandy Road.
- Paving 2.7 miles of Salt Lick Road.
- Paving 1.58 miles of Company Road, off W.Va. 26.
- Paving 1.58 miles of Manheim Road.
- Paving 2.84 miles of Greens Run Road, from Pleasantdale to W.Va. 26.
- Paving 3.57 miles of Hazelton Road.
- Paving 2.91 miles of Birds Creek Road
- Paving 8.82 miles of Hazelton/Glade Farms Road from most recent paving to Glade Farms Road.
- Paving 2.56 miles of Centenary (Route 3) to Mountaindale Road.
Mace said she is trying to obtain a prioritized list of roads the DOH plans to patch this year. W.Va. 26 south and W.Va. 72 to Rowlesburg, which were mentioned by commissioners at a past meeting, are not on the list for paving, so she brought them to the DOH’s attention.
“It is now very well known that those need attention,” Mace said.
Commissioners also want to know how $6.6 million in road bond money originally planned to replace the little-used Bull Run Truss Bridge and Rockville Truss Bridge will be spent instead.
Maintenance is a problem, commissioners said.
“The ditching, I don’t know why that’s not a yearround operation,” Commissioner Craig Jennings said.
The tree canopy over the road is also a problem, said Commissioner Dave Price. He said if you drive from Rowlesburg into Tucker County on 72, “The sky opens up and the roads are better.”
Also at the meeting, commissioners:
- Declared April Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Victims of sexual assault can call RDVIC at 304-329-1687 anytime.
- Heard the Preston Community Arts Center’s request for $10,000. Last year, the center got $7,000 from the county’s hotel/motel tax receipts.
- Approved hiring Rebecca Michaels in the assessor’s office, starting at $11.50 per hour.
- Approved buying flags commemorating the county’s bicentennial from Affordable Signs of Masontown for $1,310. Several size flags are being purchased. Also bidding was Morgantown Printing and Binding, at $1,522.
- Approved use of the courthouse lawn for National Day of Prayer services May 3.
- Was told by Mace that a drainage ditch is needed at McGrew House, at the driveway, and a section of concrete at the edge of the sidewalk should be removed.
