MORGANTOWN — West Virginia Division of Highways District 4 Construction Engineer Jason Nelson said the kind of permitting necessary for even a moderately-sized road project is incredibly complex and time consuming.
Nelson was one of a number of DOH representatives to sit with members of the Monongalia County Commission during a Wednesday work session.
The conversation touched on a variety of topics, including the commission’s frustration at a seeming lack of state-level urgency for projects packaged as part of a push for a constitutional amendment allowing the 2017 Roads to Prosperity bonding program.
“The Mileground is tied up, Green Bag is tied up, [Exit] 155 is now probably one or two years if they can figure out how it’s going to be designed, so we have to explain to our citizens why we’re not seeing any of those Roads to Prosperity projects actually happening, a big project,” Sikora said.
This is not a new complaint.
Last August, DOH representative Brian Carr, who serves on the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board, responded to similar criticism by noting that 21 projects totaling more than $31 million — many of which were not on the original list — had already been completed.
He also noted that an additional 18 projects totaling $143 million were in the works.
Additionally, all three members of the commission serve on the MPO, which last week issued a letter laying delays on a pair of local projects, including the Mileground, at the feet of the county circuit court’s handling of eminent domain cases.
The commissioners noted their frustrations are not with local DOH personnel, who, like everyone else have been dealing with COVID-related staffing issues.
The staffing quota for Monongalia County is 42 employees. The district has 31, 27 of which actually perform road work. It was explained that the hiring process has been streamlined to get workers hired and on the roads faster.
District Four Maintenance Engineer Aaron Stevens said the district was also rotating personnel during the height of the pandemic in order to limit exposure.
“It was hard to do, and like everyone else, we got behind,” he said, noting the district is working on getting employees vaccinated “But you can only vaccinate people who want it.”
He said the district is seeing a slight uptick in cases as it focuses on canopy clearing and a statewide pothole blitz aimed at getting the holes filled by Memorial Day.
Commissioner Tom Bloom provided a list of 26 pothole-ridden roads sourced through residents via social media.
Upon request, a number for road complaints in Monongalia County was provided — 304-326-0109.
TWEET @DominionPostWV
