MORGANTOWN — This time last year, a press release issued by Governor Jim Justice’s office said construction on the Mileground widening project could be expected in spring 2019.
The long-discussed project will widen the Mileground from three to five lanes — including a center turn lane — and add a five-foot sidewalk along one side.
The press release explained that the contract for that work had already been awarded to Mountaineer Contractors, of Kingwood, for $8.7 million.
But a year later the West Virginia Division of Highways remains tied up in property acquisition and now explains “progress on any physical construction is essentially halted,” pending those efforts.
DOH Spokesman Brent Walker said 39 of the 48 needed parcels along the Mileground have either been secured or rights of entry have been obtained from the property owners.
“There are 13 tenants on the Mileground in various stages of being relocated or acquired,” Walker explained. “There are 4 private utilities that require relocations.”
Two of the outstanding parcels in question fall on Morgantown Municipal Airport property, which adds a layer of complication involving the Federal Aviation Administration.
“We are waiting for utility easement approvals from the city, and the airport has requested (and is waiting on) a property change request from the FAA,” Walker explained. “The FAA required all utilities to go underground thru [sic] the airport properties. The need for this FAA approval has come as a bit of a surprise (at least to us) in the last few weeks.”
The two city parcels total roughly 2.34 acres, the majority of which is a 1.83 acre sliver of land between Mileground Road/US 119 and the airport property fence, starting at the intersection with Airport Boulevard/Hartman Run Road and running down a portion of Easton Hill.
Another .511 acre parcel is located further down Easton Hill, on the other side of Mileground Road/US 119, in line with the airport’s runway and landing lights.
On April 30 and May 1, the DOH began eminent domain proceedings on the parcels in Monongalia County Circuit Court.
Asked if the city disputed the market value of the property being offered by the state and wanted the matter determined by the courts, Morgantown Communications Manager Andrew Stacy said the state made no offers to the city prior to filing to condemn the property.
“The city has not yet determined whether it will accept the DOH estimate of fair market value as to all or any of the parcels of real estate impacted by the civil actions,” Stacy explained, adding that acquisition of the property by the DOH will not impact airport operations or future plans.
According to the documents filed by DOH District 4 Realty Manager Raymond Tackett, fair market value for the larger parcel is $212,600. The smaller parcel is valued at $43,850 according to the DOH’s filing.
Further, the court documents indicate the matters won’t be ready for trial until May 1, 2020.
The paperwork filed by the state on the larger parcel indicates just how complicated the matter is, listing a total of 17 respondents including the city, the Monongalia County Commission, the sheriff, the WVU Board of Governors, the Morgantown Utility Board, the West Virginia Public Energy Authority, the West Virginia Department of Commerce and a number of utility companies and private businesses, like RSA Flight Training, which is located at the airport.
Walker said the DOH previously met with representatives of the city and airport to discuss utilities, and a second meeting is scheduled for Oct. 31.
The widening project, which is part of Justice’s Roads to Prosperity plan and financed with general obligation bonds, is the third installment of an overall effort to improve the corridor.
The W.Va. 705 roundabout was opened on one end of the Mileground in June 2013. Improvements to the intersection at the bottom of Easton Hill were completed in late summer 2017.
Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization Director Bill Austin previously told The Dominion Post that this effort has been on his radar in some form since he took the job in 2010.
According to Austin, this project actually started out as a connector running parallel to the Mileground, from Falling Run to Point Marion Road.
The DOH scrapped that plan, he said — fearing a long and complicated property acquisition process — and the MPO shifted its focus to improving the Mileground.
During the most recent meeting of the MPO Policy Board, County Commissioner Tom Bloom and Blacksville representative Joe Statler asked DOH representative Brian Carr to request additional information and an updated timeline for the body.
“When the Roads to Progress [sic] was pushed, there was a specific date … and now we don’t even have a date,” Bloom said. “The timeline we had is a year, year and a half behind what was promised to us when a vote was taken and I have a real concern about that.”
Statler, who serves as the body’s vice chairman, concurred.
“I agree with Tom. We’re getting questions about this all the time,” he said.
