The West Virginia Division of Highways extended the public comment period for the Green Bag Road improvement project until Nov. 30.
The project will impact 1.65 miles of Green Bag Road — from Napa Auto Parts to Aarons Creek Road — and include roundabouts at the intersection of Green Bag Road and Mississippi Street and the intersection of Green Bag Road and Kingwood Pike.
Sondra Mullins, with the DOH Environmental Section, said the extension is due to the amount of feedback received.
“Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and WVDOH has received numerous comments from the public requesting that the comment period be extended on the Green Bag Road Project. Therefore, FHWA and WVDOH decided to extend the comment period until Nov. 30, to allow the public more time to comment if they desired. All comments will be addressed in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document.”
The Hastings family owns land at the corner of Kingwood Pike and Green Bag Road. The project will claim 1.7 acres of famliy farmland to build one of the traffic circles.
The property supports Joy and Hemp Universal hemp farm, Mockingbird Hill Farm and the Conscious Harvest Cooperative community garden.
The family has led the opposition to the project.
Ted Hastings said he’s optimistic the state is allowing more time for public feedback.
“My family just wants the right to farm that land. My neighbors just want it to be a simple, quiet area. That’s why we really haven’t developed much over there. That’s why you don’t see my neighbor putting in townhomes. That’s why you see me farming,” he said.
Hastings said his family and the owners of two other corner properties at that intersection have penned a letter asking for turning lanes on Green Bag Road instead of roundabouts.
This project, viewed as a means to an alternate truck route around downtown Morgantown, has been on the local radar for more than a decade. Early in the process, turning lanes appeared to be the route forward.
“This has been stressful for us,” Hastings said. “My family isn’t keeping those trucks in Morgantown. Do you honestly believe if this project was done tomorrow, the trucks are going to go away. I just don’t see it.”
The Green Bag Road project, which is currently estimated at $10 million and slated to begin in 2023, has the backing of the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Monongalia County Commission and the city of Morgantown.
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