KINGWOOD — A resident of northern Preston County told Preston commissioners Tuesday that he doesn’t understand how the state decides which roads to pave.
Larry Kisner lives on Route 5, between Hazelton and Cuzzart.
“I know you all are tired of hearing about roads, but everybody has their problems,” Kisner said.
He recently drove the loop from Route 73 back to Route 73 (Laurel Run).
“What I don’t understand is this road benefits 20, 25 residents. If you put a car counter on the road, you might get 50 cars a day or vehicles. Why in the world would they spend that much money on a road that goes nowhere?” Kisner said.
There is one business on the road, he and Commission President Samantha Stone said. Stone said she believes funding for the paving came through the state’s tourism division to help Mountain Creek Cabins.
Laurel Run Road is better suited for reclamation than four to six inches of pavement, Kisner said.
He noted the Centenary to Mountain Dale Road will also reportedly be paved. It has about 10 houses, he said.
“How do they justify spending all this money on roads that if you went back to gravel, it would be great?” Kisner asked.
He asked 20 years ago for Route 5 to be paved, he said, and that has never happened. Potholes are filled, Kisner said, and asphalt put into potholes last year and tamped down with a roller have made it worse.
“It would be a real good candidate to call the car manufacturers and let them use it as a suspension test … you better have two hands on the wheel or you’re going off,” Kisner said.
“I don’t understand who makes these decision,” he said. You rarely see a car counter on roads anymore either, and that count should play a part in what roads are fixed.
Commissioner Dave Price said some residents are doing their own traffic counts, using game cameras, and sending them to the State Division of Highways (DOH).
Stone thanked him for his comments. “I wish that we had a little bit more input than we do as far as what roads and how they are going about resurfacing different roads,” she said.
A lot of it comes down to funding, and the commission isn’t entirely sure how that happens.
And, “all of our secondary roads are in dire shape,” Stone said. Aurora Pike is one of them, Price said. “A lot of people travel it, and it’s awful.”
Stone said more and more citizens are fixing their own roads. “That to me is unacceptable,” that it has come to this, she said.
“A lot of roads have been done, and we’ll continue to move forward and hopefully we’ll get to where we have a little more input,” Stone said.
“That would be nice. It’s an embarrassment to talk about our roads,” Kisner said.
Commissioners also:
- approved Community Corrections entering into a three-year lease with Mountain State Holdings LLC for space across from Kingwood Walmart. The $3,250 monthly rent will be paid by Community Corrections; the county does not pay it.
Commissioners also approved an application for a two-year, $215,172 grant for the program.
- approved a contract with Action Construction LLC of Farmington to replace the roof at the animal shelter. The base bid of $89,371 is for a standing seam metal roof. Replacing the existing soffit and fascia will be another $12,350. The bill will be paid from money left the shelter by the late Delores Ryan.
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