MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The proposed I-79 Harmony Grove interchange to support Mountaintop Beverage is being talked about from Morgantown to Charleston and Washington, D.C. The renewed conversations come after learning last week that the project had been dropped from the Department of Highways’ (DOH) priority list.
Mountaintop Beverage is in the trial phase of production but is expected to employ more than 300 and process more than 75 million pounds of dairy products annually at full capacity. At full capacity, the trucks will carry raw materials in and finished products out 24 hours a day.
The news came during U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito’s visit to Charleston last week to address officials during the West Virginia Association of Counties Legislative Meeting.
“I questioned U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Buttiedge about the Harmony Grove interchange because we have to get those trucks out of the Westover area, it’s not safe,” Capito said on MetroNews “Talkline.” “It’s so close to the interstate there, and it’s not hugely expensive.”
Capito has visited the site and been in close contact with Gov. Justice, the Monongalia County Commission, and Mountaintop Beverage owners to fully understand the need for the project—both for safety and to allow the company to reach full production.
“We have talked with Secretary Wriston, and they’ve assured us this is high on their priority list,” Capito said. “The governor does set the priorities, and he has expressed good support for this.”
Wriston met last week with Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom in order to get details and information to help move the project along.
“He was taking the information, and I was trying to get us on the same page,” Bloom said. “Hopefully, we will be able to get this cleared up.”
Bloom said the next major milestone will be a planned meeting between the ownership of Mountaintop Beverage and DOH officials. No date for the meeting has been released.
“After the owners of Mountaintop Beverage contacted me, I believe they are trying to set up a meeting with the DOH, and I know that is in the works,” Bloom said.
Unconfirmed reports indicate other expansion announcements in the Morgantown Industrial Park are expected when project bids are awarded to a contractor.