Local delegation signals continued support for Harmony Grove
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MORGANTOWN - "Here's the real point as far as we're concerned locally, we want this project," Russ Rogerson said, speaking as chair of the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board. "Whatever we need to do to give the state comfort to move forward with the design contract is what we want to do."
The project Rogerson referenced is the long-discussed Harmony Grove interchange promised by former Gov. Jim Justice as an incentive to bring Mountaintop Beverage to West Virginia.
Evidenced by the fact that local representatives see a need to reaffirm local support for the exit to provide direct interstate access to the Morgantown Industrial Park, the tone of conversation surrounding the Harmony Grove project has clearly changed from the optimism of November 2025, when, after some seven years of discussion between the state, county and industrial park ownership, the Federal Highway Administration cleared the interchange justification report for the project, representing a federal green light to move forward.
As mentioned, the Harmony Grove project was promised by the state as an incentive to entice the massive Mountaintop Beverage facility located in the upper industrial park.
Trucks started rolling in and out of the 330,000-square-foot plant in May 2023, but due to the complexities of the federal regulatory process involving interstate projects, the DOH couldn't make good on the interchange in a timely manner.
So, in July 2023, the DOH announced that it was not only going to push forward with the Harmony Grove interchange, but also build a bridge across the Monongahela River to the industrial park in the meantime.
That project, which will connect U.S. 119 (Grafton Road) to the industrial park's Rail Street via a multi-span bridge, was awarded to Triton Construction for $59.7 million in August 2024 and is currently under construction. Most recent updates indicate completion is expected near the end of 2027.
Meanwhile, Mountaintop Beverage is moving forward with expansion plans that could grow the facility up to 700,000 square feet; Owens & Minor has opened a 350,000-square-foot medical supplies distribution center in the lower industrial park; and another 27-acre pad is being marketed that could support development on par with Mountaintop at its full potential.
The constant procession of large trucks serving those sites, and the rest of the MIP, are currently running through the heart of Westover and down DuPont Road.
Despite numerous assurances since the announcement of the Monongahela River bridge project that Harmony Grove would continue to be a priority at the state level - thereby providing two interstate access points for the industrial park - there appears to now be some uncertainty.
"I wasn't in the meeting, but from what I'm hearing, and I need to be very careful when I say this, the parameters moved from what we thought the contract was two years ago and what it is now," Monongalia County Commission President, and policy board member, Tom Bloom said during the board's Oct. 15 meeting.
"Yes, I've heard that, too," DOH representative Brian Carr responded.
As a signal of continued local support, the policy board voted to amend its Metropolitan Transportation Plan priority list to include Harmony Grove as a Tier 1 project with the intention of reallocating $2.5 million into design work for the project.
"What I'm trying to do is affirm to the state that we're serious about making this project happen," Rogerson said.
In a subsequent conversation with The Dominion Post, Bloom was asked about his comments.
"The state is interested in moving forward with the design plan but wants Monongalia County to put some more money into that part of the project. We believe it's going to take 18 months to 24 months. That will show exactly where it goes and how much it will cost. And that way we will know if it's a no-go or whatever," he said.
Delegate Joe Statler, who represents Blacksville on the policy board, said the MPO needs to do whatever it can to keep the project alive and moving.
He joked that discussions around Harmony Grove began when he was a teenager and he's now questioning whether he'll see it completed in his lifetime.
"We keep pushing this envelope back, and it's not from us but more from the state level. It's getting frustrating," he said. "We need to stress how badly we need this, especially for the Westover residents. I don't think they ever envisioned that they were going to be put into this situation for this long a time."