By Bill Austin
The Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization (MMMPO) is responsible for developing the Morgantown area’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP). The West Virginia Department of Transportation’s project for Green Bag Road from Luckey Lane to just past Mississippi Street is an important part of the MMMPO’s plan for the entire Green Bag Road corridor, from W.Va. 7 to Don Knotts Boulevard (U.S. 119), including the U.S. 19 intersection with W.Va. 43, which is adjacent to the Green Bag Road intersection. WVDOH has already improved the intersection of W.Va. 7 and Green Bag Road.
To put the current Green Bag Road project in context, the MMMPO conducted a planning level study of Green Bag Road in 2014-15. The study looked at the entire corridor from W.Va. 7 to U.S. 119 (Don Knotts Boulevard), including the operation of the Dorsey Avenue/Kingwood Pike intersection with Green Bag Road. This study identified substandard road widths and shoulders the entire length of the corridor, as well as substandard curve radii in several locations.
Furthermore, it showed that the Kingwood Pike/Dorsey Avenue intersection fails during the afternoon peak period, creating a line of traffic stretching past the entrance to Blue Grass Village. In the morning, Kingwood Pike backs up for approximately the same distance. The study also identified there is significant pedestrian traffic trying to access Mountainview Elementary on one end and Giant Eagle, White Park, South Middle School and MTEC on the other end.
The MMMPO’s study had three public meetings, including a stakeholders group meeting with trucking firms. The trucking firms indicated they would be more likely to use Green Bag Road if it were improved so travel times on the corridor were comparable to travel times going through downtown Morgantown.
Green Bag Road provides the only access to Don Knotts Boulevard (U.S. 119) from W.Va. 7 south of Morgantown that does not require vehicles to go through downtown Morgantown. Green Bag Road was originally constructed to provide direct access for aggregate haulers to reach the Green Bag Cement plant, which was located on the Monongahela River near the lock.
The City of Morgantown and the merchants in downtown Morgantown, as well as the residents of Greenmont, have expressed concern about the truck traffic coming through downtown on W.Va. 7. Green Bag Road provides the only alternative route to downtown for much of this traffic. If the Monongahela River Lock were to resume regular operation, Green Bag Road could become an important alternative for truck traffic.
The item of most interest to the public in the proposal for this corridor appears to be the installation of a roundabout at the Kingwood Pike/Dorsey Avenue intersection with Green Bag Road proposed by WVDOH. Both the MMMPO’s planning study and the WVDOH’s preliminary engineering study looked at the installation of traffic signals at this location. The MMMPO’s study only examined the impact of installing traffic signals due to the fact that the MMMPO was identifying the nature of the problem as a planning agency. Also, the MMMPO does not have the design staff needed to properly design a roundabout.
The WVDOH’s preliminary engineering study explored this aspect of the project in depth and found that installing a roundabout would make traveling the corridor significantly quicker than signals would. The roundabout alternative is also safer than signals, since there can be no “T-bone” accidents in a roundabout. The WVDOH engineering study also shows that, unlike traffic signals, a roundabout can be constructed at a lower cost to taxpayers and does not require displacing a business or a residence.
National data also shows that roundabouts have lower maintenance costs since they do not require electricity or expensive computers and lights to operate. Also, since they do not require lights, roundabouts never shut down during power outages. Both the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and the Federal Highway Administration recognize the benefits of roundabouts.
In addition to the roundabout at the intersection of Dorsey Avenue and Mississippi Street that is being discussed, the Green Bag Road project includes sidewalk on one side of the road (the north side) the entire length of the corridor and also on Luckey Lane to provide pedestrian access to Mountainview Elementary School. The project also includes upgrading the lane widths on Green Bag Road to 12 feet and developing a safe buffer distance between the sidewalk and vehicles. These aspects of the project will improve safety for everyone along Green Bag Road.
While WVDOH is only proposing to improve a portion of Green Bag Road, it is important to remember that the MMMPO’s adopted plan is to improve the entire Green Bag Road corridor. These improvements address current deficiencies and future needs. Because transportation funding is difficult to get, WVDOH can only construct improvements on a long corridor in segments. The current $10 million project is a critical part of the funding needed to improve this important corridor.
Bill Austin is the executive director of the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization.
