MORGANTOWN — If you’re struggling to get the West Virginia Division of Highways to pay attention to your road concerns, you may want to solicit the assistance of a WVU sports legend.
That, according to an email shared during Wednesday’s Monongalia County Commission meeting, appears to have worked for a group of Cheat Lake residents worried about the condition and safety of Sunset Beach and Morgan Hill roads.
The group, spearheaded by Magnolia Drive resident Ed Warnick, has taken a number of steps to get the roads on the DOH’s radar, including handing over a detailed roadway analysis bolstered by the resident-funded work of Potesta Engineering.
Most recently, Warnick reached out to the Monongalia County Commission, which forwarded the residents’ concerns to West Virginia Secretary of Transportation Byrd White.
White responded to Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom late last week, explaining that he’d already heard from one of the 1,000 or so Cheat Lake homeowners served by the roads in question — former WVU Football Coach Don Nehlen.
White said the DOH is on the case.
“As to the problems in the Sunset Beach area, we are looking at that after Don Nehlen brought it to my attention a couple weeks ago,” White explained in the email, noting that many roads in the Cheat Lake area are not in the state system.
White added, “As soon as we have a better idea of solutions, we will be in contact with you.”
According to Warnick, the roads in question date back to the 1800s and serve 10 homeowner associations in the Cheat Lake area.
He said the majority of Sunset Beach is one lane despite the large volume of traffic, including school buses, that it carries each day. Warnick also pointed out the size and condition of the roads is a stark contrast to the homes they serve.
“The Union District is the highest per capita income district in West Virginia,” Warnick said. “Our district contributed close to $9 million in property taxes to Monongalia County. I assure you that we are also contributing quite handsomely to the West Virginia income tax kitty.”
The commission said it would attempt to keep the state’s attention on the issue.
Commissioner Ed Hawkins added he’s hopeful once the county is able to implement subdivision regulations or other basic land use laws, issues like this will be phased out.
“I know exactly what has happened there, and it is a concern that, quite frankly, came about because farm roads were used as development roads,” Hawkins said. “They were never meant to do anything but go from one farm to the next farm. That’s exactly what they were until the farms were bought up, the development was done and the developments, a lot of times, provided inadequate road and drainage systems, so we will look into that.”
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