MORGANTOWN — Morgantown’s Anderson Excavating has been awarded a $14,475,154.74 contract to widen a portion of West Run Road.
Dirar Ahmad, representing DOH Traffic and Engineering Division, told The Dominion Post in July the state was acquiring rights-of-way for the project along the approximately .85-mile stretch of West Run between Stewartstown Road and Point Marion Road.
According to a DOH press release, the project will require the construction of new drainage systems and several retaining walls. It will also require the relocation of water lines and other utilities.
The work is being funded through the $2.8 billion Roads to Prosperity program and is expected to be complete in 2026.
The narrow country road has become a poster child for overwhelmed infrastructure in recent years.
The road not only serves as part of an unofficial Morgantown outer belt, but the sole access for hundreds of townhomes and apartments.
Depending on the direction of travel, vehicles turning onto West Run from Point Marion are faced with either an uncomfortably tight turning angle or a nearly blind drop onto a steep downward slope.
Ahmad previously explained addressing the intersections with both Point Marion and Stewartstown roads would be part of the project.
Monongalia County Commission President Sean Sikora said the upgrades will improve safety and the quality of life for an untold number of drivers traveling that road daily.
“It seems like with every project there are detractors and champions. I don’t think you’re going to hear too many people complain about doing something to address West Run,” he said. “This is going to address a lot of issues in that area.”
Sikora went on to say West Run has come to represent exactly what the commission hopes to avoid going forward.
“As we start having these conversations about subdivision regulations in the next couple months, West Run is probably the poster child for that. If you just let stuff go completely unregulated and without making sure the infrastructure can support what you plan to build, that’s what you end up with,” he said. “Unfortunately, in this case the DOH has to address it after the fact, but I’m glad they’re bringing some relief.”
Earlier this year, the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board approved two Transportation Improvement Plan amendments aimed at addressing West Run Road.
The first, listed at $12 million, was for the widening and intersection work. It had a funding obligation date of February 2024.
The second is a $2.4 million widening project covering 1.86 miles, which is the distance from Stewartstown Road to Van Voorhis Road. The funding obligation date on that project is listed as Sept. 28, 2025.
