Preston County commissioners receive feedback on road issues

KINGWOOD — Preston County commissioners have gotten responses on some of the road issues they’ve raised recently.
In late February, Commissioners Craig Jennings, Dave Price and Don Smith decided to contact all county commissioners in the Division of Highways (DOH) District 4 for a sit-down to talk road maintenance. In addition to Preston, that’s Doddridge, Harrison, Marion, Monongalia and Taylor counties.
So far, County Administrator Kathy Mace said Monday, only Mon County has responded, so she is calling each of the other counties this week. As previously reported, Mon County said it is willing to talk roads.
“So we will just see what the interest is and set something up, regardless of how many counties want to come,” Mace said.
She was asked to also invite state delegates and senators from throughout the district. Congressman David McKinley’s office has also asked to attend the meeting, Mace said.
She asked the congressman’s representative if other counties in the district have contacted her about roads, Mace said. The reply was that Doddridge County has a petition at its courthouse on road issues.
“So it sounds like many of us have the same exact problems,” Mace said.
The administrator hopes to have a date for the meeting by next week.
Commissioners also got a letter back from the DOH on its request that two passing lanes be added to W.Va. 7 on the approximately four-mile stretch from the bottom of Briery (Caddell) Mountain to its peak.
They cited an increase in truck traffic as the reason the lanes are needed.
DOH District 4 Engineer Don Williams wrote back that, “The scope and potential funding for such projects of this magnitude would require designated funding for both design and construction. Your request will be forwarded to Central Office Management for evaluation as to if these projects can be considered as General Obligation or other programmatic projects.”
It was similar to the reply the commission received in December, when it asked for improvements at the intersection of U.S. 50 and W.Va. 24, citing safety concerns. In that reply, Williams wrote the district, “would begin to study the intersection and do preliminary cost estimates, while forwarding the request to the central office, which would make the final decision.”
In other road-related news, commissioners received a letter from State Sen. Dave Sypolt, R-Preston, who said he asked the DOH to grant Kingwood businessman Robby Peddicord access to his property across from the Kingwood Walmart by lowering the speed limit on that section of W.Va. 7.
Peddicord would like to build a hotel and restaurant on the land but has not been able to get DOH approved access to the property.