MORGANTOWN — A spokesman for the West Virginia Division of Highways (DOH) said the division is in the process of acquiring property ahead of a planned roundabout at the intersection of University Avenue and Collins Ferry Road.
Communications Director Brent Walker said right-of-way negotiations are under way regarding two properties that would be affected by the project.
The current construction estimate for the work is $1.8 million. Walker said construction could possibly start as early as mid-2019.
The intersection has been identified as a problem location by the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) dating back to its initial transportation plan, in 2005.
MPO Director Bill Austin has said the intersection’s design causes dozens of drivers to use the Huntington Bank parking lot or Pocahontas Avenue as bypass routes every hour.
Walker identified some of the problems with the crossroads.
“The skew of the intersection creates several issues, including inadequate stacking for southbound vehicles on University Avenue making the left turn onto Collins Ferry Road, leading to a backup of traffic on University Avenue,” he said, noting that southbound drivers on Collins Ferry must also deal with sight distance issues that can make the intersection tricky to navigate.
Further, Walker said the intersection makes no provisions for pedestrian access between University and Collins Ferry despite its proximity to Suncrest Elementary school.
“For those reasons, as well as the sheer volume of traffic during the peak, the Collins Ferry to University Avenue leg of the intersection fails during the afternoon peak hour, leading traffic to attempt to find ways around the intersection,” Walker said.
The DOH has previously described the project’s design as a non-traditional roundabout because it is oblong or “peanut-shaped.”
Anthony Sellaro says it’s just nuts.
Sellaro, who lives in the area and owns nearby Sellaro Plaza, has been among a number of business owners who have spoken out against the plan.
“I can tell you all the businesses in that area, on University Avenue, are totally against it,” Sellaro said. “We have over 500 signatures against this. [The Dominion Post] ran a poll and more than 70 percent were against it, yet we’re still getting this pushed down our throats.”
Local business owners aren’t the only ones opposed to the plan. According to The Dominion Post archive, the Town of Star City sent a letter to the engineering division of DOH in May of 2017. In the letter Star City Mayor Herman Reid stated the town is “vehemently opposed to the placement of the oval roundabout.”
Sellaro said he’s not opposed to the DOH addressing the corridor, including the intersection, but he and others have doubts about roundabout plan as presented.
“The roundabout on the Mileground isn’t big enough. They just built a roundabout at the interchange on the other side of Westover that they’re already about to tear out. Their track record with roundabouts isn’t all that good,” Sellaro said. “We feel like there is a better alternative.”
The project has the backing of the MPO as well as letters of support from the Monongalia County Board of Education and the City of Morgantown.
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Morgantown Area News
'Friday, April 26, 2024'
