PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — A member of the Wood County Commission said Monday plans to widen another stretch of state Route 2 is exciting news for his region of the state. Commissioner Blair Couch said the upgrades to the highway will be important for several reasons.
“It’s a dangerous two-lane especially at night. Deer hits are common on Route 2. People are backing out of driveways onto a road where people are travelling 55,” Couch said.
The safety of the road is only one aspect of the project which encouraged Couch. He said the increased level of commerce such a highway would attract is a major boost as well.
“Everybody wants to build things on a four-lane so they can travel in and out quickly. It’s good for business, it’s good for people living along it, and it’s good for safety of all,” he added.
Mountaineer Contractors was awarded the $27 Million dollar contract to do the work and widen three miles of the road from two lanes to four between Parkersburg and St. Marys. The money for the projects is part of Governor Jim Justice’s Roads to Prosperity program.
The project is part of an ongoing plan to upgrade WV 2 to four lanes all the way from Parkersburg to Chester in the northern panhandle. Approximately 38 miles of WV 2 have already been widened to four lanes.
WV 2 follows the Ohio River from Huntington to Chester. WVDOH hopes to eventually widen the road to four lanes for its entire length.