Tom Talerico, Morgantown
The intersection of Earl Core Road and the Green Bag Road is a unique intersection that probably exists nowhere else in the world.
While it may be a horror story to people new to town and people who don’t usually drive that area; it is one of the peculiarities that make Morgantown home to all of us.
It is my hope that a lot more “studying” be done for a truck bypass, especially if a roundabout is still under consideration for the W.Va. 7 area. Every time I think about the traffic pattern on the Mileground and the possibility of having another roundabout in Sabraton, I have nightmares.
Additionally, there are a multitude of other considerations which must be factored in to make the Green Bag Road a bypass for the downtown area. Some of those considerations are:
- Will 18-wheel trucks be able to navigate the two 90 degree turns on the Green Bag Road?
- Is the “S” turn at the Don Knotts end of the Green Bag Road going to be another area that also needs fixed?
- Are the traffic lights going to pose a problem and are turning lanes going to have to be built to accommodate the influx of additional traffic?
- Not having an engineering degree, there may be additional areas that will need “fixed.”
- How much is all this going to cost a state that does not have the funds handle the roads that are already in existence?
It seems to me that easiest, cheapest and best solution at the W.Va. 7 entrance to the Green Bag Road (County Route 857) would be a dedicated stoplight on either end of Earl Core Road.
With the large amount of money needed to upgrade that intersection, re-make the road, upgrade the bridges, add turning lanes, adjust or install new stoplights and etc. that may be necessary for trucks and other vehicles, this may turn the whole adventure into a money pit.
