MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The state Division of Highways has announced plans to reconstruct a busy Morgantown area highway.
The work will take place from the Pierpont Road exit on Interstate 68 on Route 857 to the intersection with Easton Hill Road.
That section of highway is the one recommended by authorities for Mountaineer football fans heading to or leaving Milan Puskar Stadium.
Delegate David McCormick, R-Monongalia, made the announcement on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town” Monday with DOH District 4 manager Earl Gaskins.
“It’s something Earl and I have talked about a lot,” McCormick said. “It’s been a high priority of mine and it’s right in the heart of my district.”
The project is expected to cost around $4 million and the funding is secured, according to McCormick. The project is expected to be included in the 2027 bidding and construction cycle.
“We hope to start it in 2027,” McCormick said. “It’s a 2027-28 project, so it’s not going to happen right now, but it’s on the list, the money is there, and we’re going to get it done.”
Gaskins noted the section of road in question is about 40 years old and the concrete pavement is nearing the end of its service life. This project will be a full reconstruction removing the concrete and reconstructing about .8 mile of the existing concrete road. Gaskins said the final cross section and pavement design is still be considered by state engineers.
“Over the years I think the quick answer was to pave it and leave it for the next guy but under our current leadership we’re trying to fix things right and do it the right way,” Gaskins said.
The traffic maintenance plan is still be developed but is nearly certain the construction phase of the work will create congestion and delays. The project duration will be more clear after the final pavement design is determined.
“We’ll tear out the old concrete and rebuild it from the ground up, start at the subgrade and work our way up,” Gaskins said. “It’s the only was to repair it so it will last a long time and I think it’s money well spent.”
McCormick also got legislation passed recently that allows a private contractor to help with snow removal on select routes in Monongalia and Preston Counties. He said voters are very concerned about the condition of the roads and revisiting the state road funding formula could give urban growth counties in the state additional resources to address road issues directly tied to economic development.
“Totally different weather system from panhandle to panhandle than it is say from Princeton to Huntington along I-64 and south of that around Lewisburg,” McCormick said. “They just don’t get the snow and cold we get.”