MORGANTOWN – An informational workshop and public meeting for the opening phase of the $135 million I-79 Exit 155 project, now dubbed the Western Monongalia Gateways Project, has been set.
The meeting will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. March 9 at the Mon County Center located at 270 Mylan Park Lane, in Mylan Park.
According to the meeting announcement, Phase 1 of the project includes improvements to I-79 and Chaplin Hill Road.
The overall project will reconfigure the interchange, replace aging bridges, construct a two-lane flyover for westbound traffic leaving Morgantown, and improve Chaplin Hill Road in the area adjacent to Exit 155 into a multi-lane boulevard-style roadway.
The meeting will be held in an open house format. No formal presentation will be made.
The public meeting will be an initial step toward a project that has been a community talking point for years.
Conversations picked up significant steam in 2019, when the West Virginia Division of Highways said it was committing $66 million to address the failing interchange. At the time, it was believed a project could begin as soon as 2021.
Fast forward to February 2024 – the U.S. Department of Transportation announced $54.3 million for the project that had grown in estimated cost to approximately $110 million.
As both the DOH and DOT funding awards contemplated much of the same work, two questions arose. One, would the state’s $66 million commitment remain in light of the federal funding announcement, and, if so, who would pay for what.
At least some of those answers were provided last July with a joint announcement from the DOH, Monongalia County Commission and developer WestRidge that an agreement was in place solidifying the project’s financing.
About half the $135 million project’s cost – $67.2 million – will be provided by the state. The USDOT’s $54.3 million MEGA Grant remains in place and the final portion, totaling approximately $13.5 million, will be provided locally by WestRidge and the county. The local contribution includes design dollars already spent.
Last month, the Monongalia County Commission approved the language of right-of-entry letters for properties that could be impacted by the project.
It’s been explained that a large percentage, but not all, of the land required to construct the improvements is under the control of WestRidge.
While no timeline has been provided for the project to date, the federal grant comes with a 2028 deadline, meaning those dollars will likely be spent first.
