CLARKSBURG -- Public
meetings today and Thursday are the last two chances for area
residents to express their opinions and make suggestions about
what Harrison County roads may look like by
2025.
Public comment sessions
are scheduled for 6:30-8:30 p.m. today at the West Milford
Community Center and Thursday at the Harrison County Senior
Center. The sessions are for state highway officials to get
input on the Harrison County Transportation Study, a guide the
state Division of Highways will use for the next quarter
century.
For Clarksburg city
leaders, one of the most important projects in the study is a
proposed upgrade of Davisson Run from U.S. 50 to West Virginia
98. Business leaders on the south side of Clarksburg also have
rallied around the cause, and an informal meeting was held
last week.
"Primarily, it was to
encourage business owners and people who live out there to
attend one or both of the meetings," said Clarksburg Vice
Mayor Becky Lake.
Lake said many residents
and businesses on that end of town will be affected if the
road is not upgraded. City officials have said that since
United Hospital Center announced it will be leaving that area,
they have been told the upgraded road is no longer a priority
for the state.
"We need to let our voices
be heard that we need this access road," Lake said. "The
bottom line is, there are several road projects in the works,
and the squeaky wheel gets the grease."
Clarksburg businessman
Danny Thomas, who also attended last week's informal meeting,
agreed with Lake. He said the south side of Clarksburg will
suffer if Davisson Run is not upgraded.
"Without a new road, it
certainly will be detrimental to businesses on that end of the
city," Thomas said. "It will hurt businesses and it will, in
turn, hurt the city."
Thomas said it also may be
hard to market the existing UHC campus, once it is vacated, if
the road remains the way it is now.
The study was put together
by URS Corp. of Omaha, Neb. Bill Troe, a planner at URS, said
the U.S. 50 corridor is the No. 1 priority for the
county.
Norm Roush, deputy
commissioner for the state Division of Highways, said no
specific projects from the study would begin for at least a
year, and some may never be done.
He said current projects,
such as the completion of West Virginia 279 and the widening
of Meadowbrook Road to four lanes, have first
priority.
Staff writer Jim Fisher
can be reached at 626-1446 or by e-mail at
jfisher@exponent-telegram.com
