This letter is a Road Repair Request and Request for Seasonal Ton Limits for the following roads:
WVDOT/DOH District 4; Legislation District 34
Fairmont, Marion County, WV 26554
Prickett’s Creek Rd. - CR 80
Tunnel Hollow Rd. - CR 31/11
Mudlick Road: CR 84
Durham Lick Road : CR 80/5
Long Run/Samaria Rd: CR 80/3
There are differing opinions on how our roads have come to such disrepair, whether it be the winter’s heavy snows, the recent heavy logging activity during the wet season, salt that may have been mistakenly applied to portions of our road by the DOH trucks or by residents or a combination of these things. Whatever the reasons, the fact is that our roads have become difficult to travel with “floating” surfaces, large areas of mud pits that have surfaced, areas that have buckled upward, low or non existent shoulders that have washed out and deep, damaging potholes.
Presently, many of the passenger vehicles traveling these roads sink and bottom out over the mud pits and road heaves and take daily beatings crashing into and out of deep potholes, playing havoc on suspension, steering and tires. The roads have become dangerous, pulling vehicles unexpectedly on the floating surfaces and requiring drivers to dodge the heaves and carefully skirt dangerous, washed out shoulders.
Mike Roncone, Marion County Supervisor for the DOH, has advised us that the population through these roads does not justify the cost of continued hot patch repair and that from Grassy Run to Mudlick Road, the DOH will be reverting the current tar and chip surface of Prickett’s Creek road back to gravel to lower the cost of upkeep. It is our opinion that once that section is reverted, the gravel reversion will likely continue to the current tar and chip surface of Tunnel Hollow Road and portions of Mudlick, Durham and Long Run/Samaria that are currently tar and chip.
Downgrading our roads back to gravel will have a negative effect on all the vehicles that use these roads, slowing Emergency vehicles and damaging School Buses, Postal Service vehicles, Garbage collection trucks and of course the local resident’s vehicles. Property and resale values will lower, possibly lower than our mortgage amounts since some of our properties were appraised to include the hard road.
As resident’s along these roads, we do not agree that gravel is a cost effective alternative to the tar and chip or hot patch since we are first hand witnesses that the gravel does kick and wash out of the filled holes and sink in the mud pits within days of application in addition to continual need for grading and further applications of gravel whereas the tar and chip surface and hot patch fill has lasted for years until the recent heavy logging on saturated roads in combination with our severe winter.
The resident's of this area will not accept gravel patching in any of the potholes or more extensive road heaves, mud pits or floating surfaces. We formally request the road surfaces be restored to conditions prior to logging activity and heavy winter snows, which were no less than tar and chip and hot patch. We also request proper trenching to divert water running across the road surface as well as raising shoulders on Tunnel Hollow Rd. hill as it enters onto Rt 310/ East Grafton Rd. to proper and safe levels.
Once our roads are restored to the proper condition, the residents along these roads request that the roads are rated and posted for limited tonnage and that vehicles over a certain weight may NOT pass in wet seasons under any circumstance for commercial or private purposes.
Please review the information in the letter and enclosed photos and ask yourself: - If it were YOU or your Mother or Father or your children or your friends or your neighbors- would YOU want your paved road to revert to gravel that would risk slowing an emergency vehicle rushing to your loved, cause continuous damage to your vehicle and lower your property value? Would you, really?
WVDOT/DOH District 4; Legislation District 34
Fairmont, Marion County, WV 26554
Prickett’s Creek Rd. - CR 80
Tunnel Hollow Rd. - CR 31/11
Mudlick Road: CR 84
Durham Lick Road : CR 80/5
Long Run/Samaria Rd: CR 80/3
There are differing opinions on how our roads have come to such disrepair, whether it be the winter’s heavy snows, the recent heavy logging activity during the wet season, salt that may have been mistakenly applied to portions of our road by the DOH trucks or by residents or a combination of these things. Whatever the reasons, the fact is that our roads have become difficult to travel with “floating” surfaces, large areas of mud pits that have surfaced, areas that have buckled upward, low or non existent shoulders that have washed out and deep, damaging potholes.
Presently, many of the passenger vehicles traveling these roads sink and bottom out over the mud pits and road heaves and take daily beatings crashing into and out of deep potholes, playing havoc on suspension, steering and tires. The roads have become dangerous, pulling vehicles unexpectedly on the floating surfaces and requiring drivers to dodge the heaves and carefully skirt dangerous, washed out shoulders.
Mike Roncone, Marion County Supervisor for the DOH, has advised us that the population through these roads does not justify the cost of continued hot patch repair and that from Grassy Run to Mudlick Road, the DOH will be reverting the current tar and chip surface of Prickett’s Creek road back to gravel to lower the cost of upkeep. It is our opinion that once that section is reverted, the gravel reversion will likely continue to the current tar and chip surface of Tunnel Hollow Road and portions of Mudlick, Durham and Long Run/Samaria that are currently tar and chip.
Downgrading our roads back to gravel will have a negative effect on all the vehicles that use these roads, slowing Emergency vehicles and damaging School Buses, Postal Service vehicles, Garbage collection trucks and of course the local resident’s vehicles. Property and resale values will lower, possibly lower than our mortgage amounts since some of our properties were appraised to include the hard road.
As resident’s along these roads, we do not agree that gravel is a cost effective alternative to the tar and chip or hot patch since we are first hand witnesses that the gravel does kick and wash out of the filled holes and sink in the mud pits within days of application in addition to continual need for grading and further applications of gravel whereas the tar and chip surface and hot patch fill has lasted for years until the recent heavy logging on saturated roads in combination with our severe winter.
The resident's of this area will not accept gravel patching in any of the potholes or more extensive road heaves, mud pits or floating surfaces. We formally request the road surfaces be restored to conditions prior to logging activity and heavy winter snows, which were no less than tar and chip and hot patch. We also request proper trenching to divert water running across the road surface as well as raising shoulders on Tunnel Hollow Rd. hill as it enters onto Rt 310/ East Grafton Rd. to proper and safe levels.
Once our roads are restored to the proper condition, the residents along these roads request that the roads are rated and posted for limited tonnage and that vehicles over a certain weight may NOT pass in wet seasons under any circumstance for commercial or private purposes.
Please review the information in the letter and enclosed photos and ask yourself: - If it were YOU or your Mother or Father or your children or your friends or your neighbors- would YOU want your paved road to revert to gravel that would risk slowing an emergency vehicle rushing to your loved, cause continuous damage to your vehicle and lower your property value? Would you, really?
