WESTOVER, W.Va. — Dave Johnson, long-time mayor of Westover, wishes he could snap his fingers and make a traffic problem disappear.
That problem is the traffic flow in Westover, which he believes could be alleviated by the construction of a new interchange on I-79, north of where I-68 and I-79 meet.
That potential interchange was the subject of a recent public meeting involving residents and other stakeholders.
“I think everybody walked away optimistic that it could happen, but at the same time they weren’t real satisfied with the fact that even something like this were put into the full motion, it would take years to get done,” he said Wednesday on WAJR’s Morgantown AM. “It’s not going to be a quick answer, and it’s not going to be an easy answer by any means.”
Right now, truck traffic in the upper River Road and Dupont Road areas are essentially limited to one-way in and one-way out from the Morgantown Industrial Park following the closure of the lower portion of River Road due to an unprecedented number of slides.
“I really feel that this new exit would eliminate probably 80 percent or maybe better of that traffic, because most of these trucks could access the park from the interstate where the bridge goes across above the Westover exit.”
Johnson, who could “list about 20 reasons” why the area needed the new interchange, said public safety is his top concern.
“If something happened at the school, we don’t have any way in or out for emergency services. Basically, if you eliminate the River Road, you have the Dupont Road going into basically a dead end road. Only one way in and one way out.”
Additionally, nearby industrial plants are the source of significant truck traffic. Getting to the interstate requires a trip through parts of downtown Westover.
“There’s trucks hauling hazardous materials in and out of the plant down there,” Johnson said. “So, if something would happen with one of those trucks at the intersection of DuPont Road, we’d probably have to evacuate half the city.”
Beyond the city’s limits, those who live in small unincorporated communities like Harmony Grove and Booth have limited options to access I-79.
“They have to do a lot of traveling,” Johnson said. “If they want to go to the WalMart, they want to go to Fairmont, wherever they want to go, if that exit’s in they ‘boom’ get on it and go. The way it is now, they have to come all the way down past the schools all the way out DuPont Road and then back onto the interstate to begin with.”
The closure of a portion of River Road — just past the Westover Bridge heading towards Lockside Road — added in the additional complication.
“The lower part of the River Road handled a lot of the local traffic with people picking up their kids at school and going to school and that type of the thing,” Johnson said. “But that’s gone, and it’s probably gone forever.”
The next step: the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) getting on board followed by a modicum of federal support. For now, Johnson said gathering community support is a good first step.
“For anyone to even consider this, they have to re-adjust their long term plan to include this. So, it’s going to take a lot of people staying on this and keeping their heads together and working towards that goal. It’s time consuming.”