KINGWOOD – The State Division of Highways (DOH) is taking applications from people willing to accept tons of fill dirt recovered as roadside ditches are cleaned.
And the Preston County Commission has applications to accept the dirt on its web site, prestoncountywv.gov, and at its office.
The DOH will be looking to dump tandem truckloads of dirt, County Commissioner Samantha Stone said at Monday’s meeting. The agreement relieves DOH employees of liability.
“We have over 1,200 miles of roads in Preston County, and the ditches are all full, so it’s going to be a lot of fill dirt,” Stone said.
Last week the governor ordered State Transportation Secretary Thomas Smith and his staff to tour Preston County roads and come up with a plan of action.
“However at this point we still do not know exactly what their plan of action does entail. We have agreed to work in conjunction with the DOH on the ground here,” said Stone, who drove Smith on a tour of county roads.
She said originally commissioners were told ditch work would start early this week, but the snow storm delayed it. She and Commissioner Don Smith asked motorists to “be kind” when delayed by the work.
“I don’t want to hear complaints about people getting delayed like we had last time when they were starting to pave the roads,” Commissioner Smith said.
Commissioner Dave Price said it is, “pretty exciting to see anything,” in progress to roads. The commission declared an emergency last year due to the condition of roads and is working with the North Central Roads Caucus.
Grape Run Road resident Wesley Wolfe was at the meeting to discuss roads. Wolfe noted that for years he maintained one mile of the road and has nothing good to say about the current DOH management. In a March 4 letter to Secretary Smith, Wolfe noted that after he complained recently about the road’s condition, the DOH graded part of the road, filling the ditches in the process.
After the first snow, they plowed the road and spread gravel and salt on it, Wolfe said. “The road now is nothing but a mud hole with ruts deep enough to bury a vehicle,” Wolfe said in a letter he mailed Monday to Smith at the DOH.
Also Monday, commissioners:
- agreed to Sheriff Dan Loughrie’s hiring of Don Shaffer as a temporary full-time utility officer at $13.61 per hour. Shaffer, a retired process server, will fill in as needed through May 4 while another officer is on medical leave.
- were told by County Administrator Kathy Mace the new elevator at the courthouse annex will be installed around March 25.
- gave Arthurdale Heritage a letter of support for a grant application.
- noted someone is still needed to serve on the board of Public Service District 1. Applicants must live within the district and be a PSD 1 customer.
