TUNNELTON — A discussion about the Tunnelton underpass drew about 50 residents and officials Monday evening.
Members of the South Preston Neighborhood Watch were at the Apostolic Church, seeking additional names for a petition they are circulating. They have 686 signatures and believe they will be able to more than double that number.
The subject of the petition is the CSX underpass, which goes under the railroad tracks, connecting W.Va. 26 to Bank Street. The underpass is deteriorated, according to Tunnelton resident Sherry Heise. She said every time it rains the underpass floods.
“When you are coming in from the Kingwood side on [W.Va.] 26 you can’t see the water. In the winter big icicles hang down that could come through a windshield. When I look up I can see holes in the ceiling of the underpass. The streets are horrid. You have to dodge potholes on 26. As taxpayers and citizens we need better roads.”
Tunnelton Volunteer Fire Department President Brian Moreland said the department has received 13 emergency calls about the underpass. He said two calls were for water rescue. When the underpass floods, it can also force firefighters to drive another route.
“Flooding delays response time for emergency vehicles,” he said. “It’s delayed about five minutes with a smaller truck. The larger trucks have to go on Grimmtown Road and are delayed 15 minutes. That could mean the difference between life and death,” Moreland said.
Danny McGinnis drives a school bus and his route goes through the underpass.
“The bus rocks and the little kids hit their heads against the windows. After they redid the sidewalks it’s so high the bus has almost been hit several times. I have 60 to 70 kids in the morning,” he said.
McGinnis said his bus is not the only one that must travel through the underpass. “There are four other buses that goes through there. One bus makes nine trips a day,” he said.
“We’re here to see what we can do,” State Sen. Randy Smith, R-Tucker, said. He said he was surprised CSX has not closed the underpass. Smith said there was a similar problem with the bridge at Salt Lick in Terra Alta. He said CSX is going to replace the Salt Lick bridge next year.
Residents are hopeful that the passage of HB 2983 will help get the underpass fixed. The bill gives “priority to roadway construction, reconstruction and maintenance for roadways prone to recurring floods that hinder ingress and egress.”
“We’re here info-gathering. We are going to set up a meeting with the DOH and discuss roads,” Preston County Commissioner Don Smith said. “We’ll bring this up then. We know what the problem is, now we have to go about finding someway to fix it.”
The Rev. Ray Frankhouser said the underpass is so old and deteriorated that CSX can’t, “put Humpty Dumpty together again.” He said although he is not an engineer he believes it is beyond repair and needs to be replaced.
Tunnelton Mayor Brian Harris said he believes the problem with the underpass is not new. He commended members of the community for coming together to work on the problem.
“Just look at all the people here,” he said. “This is the drive that will carry us through. We are working on getting a police officer and working on a beautification program. That’s the drive and initiative that will make this town what it should be.”
