FRAZIER’S BOTTOM, W.Va. — The West Virginia Division of Highways has eliminated a dog-leg turn which made access to the Buffalo Bridge in Putnam County a difficult proposition for many years. Since the completion of U.S. Route 35, the access road from the new highway to the old highway, which is now Route 817 has been a dangerous proposition.
Over the years multiple crashes have occurred on the curve before the turn onto the bridge. Last week, the DOH opened up a new straight shot from the four-lane highway to the bridge approach without having to stop and turn.
“Anything they do down there can help,” said Sheriff Bobby Eggleton. “The wrecks there were actually before the intersection, but that was a matter of making it more convenient to get over the Buffalo Bridge. It was just a bad design to begin with and they fixed it.”
Now that U.S. Route 35 is a four-lane from Teays Valley to Point Pleasant, far fewer semis come off the highway in the area and have to take the steep and dangerous turn. Most of the tractor trailers which do leave Route 35 are headed to the Toyota plant and will take advantage of the new approach without the dangerous turn.
“It’s probably cut it down 70 or 80 percent from prior to the new Route 35 when they renamed it Route 817,” said the Sheriff. “That’s where most of the traffic there goes to is Toyota, so that’s going to help tremendously.”
Eggleton said the new problem areas are the intersections of the main Route 35. There have been multiple crashes in recent months, including some which were fatal. Weather conditions, especially fog, make it tough to see for any great distance at certain times to try and pull onto the highway.
“Route 35 is a dangerous area, and anything they can do down there to make traffic flow better is a safety concern and we’re thankful they finished that up,” he added.