KINGWOOD — Crews painting lines on roads that are in poor shape or scheduled for paving soon are drawing the ire of
Prestonians.
Last week, a contractor working for the State Division of Highways was on many Preston County roads, painting center and road edge lines. That included in Terra Alta, where W.Va. 7 is scheduled to be milled soon and repaved.
“I’ve gotten more complaints than my inbox can hold over the weekend for the painting of the lines over roads that are not acceptable to be driving on to begin with,” Commissioner Samantha Stone said at Monday’s county commission meeting.
The state contracts line painting, she said, and the company does the painting without regard to the DOH’s paving or repair plans.
“It’s a safety thing,” Commissioner Don Smith noted.
If you wait until the road gets paved, that is unsafe, Smith said. He has been approached by people who drive W.Va. 72 at night, which is made more difficult by the lack of lines. Those requests are being made by motorists even though the road will be paved this fall, he said, because they need the lines now to help navigate the road by the Cheat River.
“But I believe the road condition is a safety thing more,” Stone said. “When they’re painting on a terrible road to begin with, that’s very frustrating to all of our citizens here in the county. They look at it as a waste of money. I would have to agree.”
She said the “disconnect” needs solved.
Jennifer Piercy, with the County Commissioners’ Association of West Virginia, was at the meeting on another matter but chimed in on Preston County roads. Coming from Charleston, her GPS directed her to get off at the Goshen Road exit, she noted. She traveled secondary roads to Kingwood.
“I was shocked,” at the condition of Preston’s roads, she said. “You all need help.”
Also at Monday’s meeting, County Administrator Kathy Mace presented a proposal for additional security upgrades on county property.
New security cameras and access devices are already being installed through a grant. But Mace said when those were planned, no one realized the panic buttons, which are about 10 years old, wouldn’t work with the new system.
For about $20,000, all the panic buttons, which are in various offices at the courthouse and elsewhere, could be made wireless, allow officers to remotely lock entrance doors, add a panic button at the commission meeting room and make other improvements.
She proposed the work be done by the company now installing the other devices. Commissioners will rule on the request next week.
“The security that brings you is a no brainer to me,” Mace said.
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