TUNNELTON — A drainage system to address flooding problems in the Tunnelton underpass and on W.Va. 26 could be in the works for this year.
Michael Cronin, West Virginia Division of Highways District 4 engineer/manager, said a set of plans for the project is being reviewed.
“The process will then be for the plans to go to Charleston to be reviewed. Then if approved will be placed to go through the bidding process,” Cronin said. “This will take time as all projects of this size do. We still have to work on the actual tunnel as it is not the [Division] of Highways (DOH) property, it is railroad property.”
The underpass takes vehicles under CSX train tracks, through a short tunnel from W.Va. 26 to the other side of Tunnelton.
The brick road going into the underpass on one side belongs to the town, W.Va. 26 on the other side is the property of the state and the right-of-way under the railroad is CSX’s responsibility due to a 1912 agreement.
“Our plans place a new properly sized drainage system on [Division] of Highways right-of-way that will help to eliminate the flooding of Route 26,” he said. “Our plans do allow for the capture of the water at the tunnel location, but those details must be worked out with the railway, We will continue on the process and hopefully sometime in 2021 there will be a project to construct the drainage system.”
During heavy rains, the tunnel floods. It also causes flooding on W.Va. 26.
Larger vehicles, including fire trucks and ambulances, have to go around, delaying them by as much as 15 minutes.
When the fire trucks come out onto Bonafield Street, there is a steep lip at the edge of the road, and the road can twist the trucks’ frames, firefighters have said. The exit is also on a curve.
In an email, Sheriee S. Bowman, media relations for CSX Transportation, indicated the current project is a DOH project.
“Thank you for reaching out. However, this is a West Virginia [Division] of Highways project and defer to them for any comments,” she wrote.
In 2018, the West Virginia Legislature passed House Bill 2984, granting priority to roadway construction, reconstruction and maintenance for roadways prone to recurring floods that hinder ingress and egress. The bill was effective June 1, 2018.
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