MORGANTOWN — According to West Virginia Division of Highways Spokesman Brent Walker, design work is underway for improvements to Exit 155 (WVU/Star City) on I-79.
Walker said the DOH is in talks with private developer WestRidge, its consultant, HDR, and the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization.
“Original plans have considered a divergent diamond interchange with a flyover heading west,” Walker said. “It may also include a roundabout.”
He said the results of an ongoing traffic study would help inform the final design.
The project is currently estimated at $66 million and likely wouldn’t begin until late next year, Walker said.
The project is funded through the Roads to Prosperity Constitutional Amendment allowing the issuance of up to $1.6 Billion of General Obligation (GO) Bonds.
The divergent diamond intersection (DDI) concept first appeared in the U.S. in 2009.
The closest operational DDI is at I-70 and Pa. 19, near Washington, Pa. It was opened in 2017, replacing a cloverleaf interchange.
Last fall, the DOH announced it was also considering replacing the roundabout at the University Town Centre exit (153) with a DDI.
Exit 153 was opened to traffic in September of 2016 at a cost of $22 million.
While the interchange is functioning as designed, it is feared that once the WestRidge developments begin to fill up, traffic will outstrip the roundabout’s capacity, forcing the installation of traffic lights.
The DDI redesign at Exit 153 was last estimated at $7 million.
County Commissioner Ed Hawkins said that while he’s looking forward to improvements to both exits, Exit 155 is more urgent.
“It’s just that the danger of 155 is really significant. There really have been no hiccups with 153, but there will eventually be too much traffic for the existing design,” Hawkins said. “But even then it won’t be as fatally flawed as 155 is now. I literally just saw someone T-bone another vehicle out there. He never even slowed down. It’s a bad intersection.”
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