MORGANTOWN — Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told The Dominion Post on Thursday that the Senate Appropriations Committee has marked up and sent to the full Senate an appropriations bill that includes $26 million for the Morgantown Industrial Park bridge and access road project.
Capito is a member of the Appropriations Committee and said the funding is through Congressionally Directed Spending. She personally requested it to be included in the bill to fund the U.S. Department of Transportation in Fiscal Year 2025. Upon Senate passage, the bill would need to be reconciled with the House version for the final budget package for FY25.
The project involves designing a road and bridge identified as the recommended alignment from the Design Study and is known as Alternative 3.
Capito’s office said the project begins at the proposed bridge over the Monongahela River — with Coast Guard permitting and clearance requirements — and would terminate at U.S. 119/Grafton Road.
As previously reported by The Dominion Post, Alternative 3 improves the industrial park’s existing Rail Street, crosses the river on the multi-span bridge, and joins U.S. 119/Grafton Road near Scott Avenue. A connection to Smithtown Road will also be provided and a portion of Master Graphics Road, connecting to River Road, will also be improved and paved.
The bridge is currently estimated at $80 million, and the state’s environmental assessment has confirmed Alternative 3 — the choice of local policy makers — as the preferred connection point.
Capito told The Dominion Post, “Through my many conversations with local officials, business and stakeholders in the Morgantown area, it was evident how great a need there was to complete the Morgantown Industrial Park Access Road project. That’s why I made it a priority to specifically advocate for funding to be directly used to support this project. I’m thrilled my efforts were successful in securing this provision in the funding legislation. While there are still a few more steps we must take in the Appropriations process before this becomes law, this is a major development and a highly encouraging one.”
This project is distinct from a proposed new I-79 Harmony Grove interchange to provide direct interstate access to the upper portion of the Morgantown Industrial Park. Latest estimates put the Harmony Grove interchange project at about $30 million, much of which will ultimately be reimbursed by the Harmony Grove TIF district.
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