MORGANTOWN — The Division of Highways held a pair of virtual public meetings on the proposed Van Voorhis Road improvement project on Monday. DOH outlined the plans and fielded a handful of questions.
DOH proposes to improve just under a mile of Van Voorhis, stretching from the W.Va. 705 intersection to the intersection with West Run Road.
DOH explained during the meeting that the project aims to address recurring congestion, narrow lanes, deficient road geometry, limited pedestrian accommodation and limited drainage.
Proposed improvements, DOH says, include widening Van Voorhis the entire length to create wider lanes, an additional southbound lane from Killarney Drive to 705, shoulder widening and paving, improvement of the roadway alignment near the intersection of Wedgewood Drive, construction of a northbound left turn lane to Wedgewood Drive, replacement of the bridge over West Run, construction of sidewalks, curbs, gutters, retaining walls and drainage improvements along various sections of the roadway.
The roadway alignment improvement near Wedgewood Drive includes improvement of the horizontal and vertical alignment of Van Voorhis Road between Clearview Avenue and the Morgantown Health and Rehabilitation Center (Golden Living) driveway, DOH says.
Project challenges, DOH said during the meeting, include steep terrain, existing utilities, exisitng development and heavy traffic.
A couple people asked about the entrance to Advantage Health and Wellness, which sits just a few yards away from the 705-Van Voorhis intersection and poses challenges for vehicles entering and exiting the business and for vehicles in the travel lanes at the intersection.
DOH said the details are still being evaluated but they’ll looking at moving the driveway.
One virtual attendee commented that water runoff is eroding the road edges of Van Voorhis from West Run to Bakers Ridge and asked if there are plans to address that.
Design Engineer Dirar Ahmed said that’s outside the scope of this project but as funding arises DH will be looking at other sections of Van Voorhis.
DOH plans to extend sidewalks to Southview Street, just across from the Northridge Apartments. One person asked about extending the walks all the way to West Run.
Ahmed said the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements mandates sidewalk grades and meeting ADA requirements would necessitate deviating from the road grade.
From Southview to to West Run, DOH plans wider paved shoulders.
Right of way acquisition for the project is tentatively scheduled for June 2022 with construction to begin June 2023.
DOH is accepting project comments through Sept. 10. They can be texted to 855-925-2801, voicemailed to the same number with project code 9356, made online at http://go.wv.gov/dotcomment or mailed to RJ Scites, Director, Engineering Division, West Virginia Division of Highways, 1334 Smith Street, Charleston, West Virginia 25301.
A project overview can be found at http://transportation.wv.gov/highways/engineering/comment/VanVoorhisRoadProject/Pages/default.aspx.
Another can be found at https://publicinput.com/vanvoorhis.
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