Waiting for progress

Pricketts Creek, Tunnel Hollow Road project ‘100 percent go’



BY JESSICABORDERS TIMES WEST VIRGINIAN

FAIRMONT — While the West Virginia Division of Highways has voiced its commitment to repair Pricketts Creek Road and Tunnel Hollow Road off U.S. Route 310, community members are still discouraged and waiting to see progress.

Residents, local delegates and DOH officials met at the Crossroads 4-H Community Center Tuesday evening to discuss the status of the project. The roadway, which begins as Lower Pricketts and turns into Tunnel Hollow as it winds up toward Route 310 after a turnoff onto Grassy Run, was previously solid and hard with only occasional pot­holes.

But now, because of the harsh winter and heavy logging activity, residents must drive off the road to avoid huge potholes. People who live in the area have to deal with “floating” surfaces, ditches that are deep and dangerous, a cracked bridge, and other issues.

Residents Melissa Brodsky and Carrie Heston have served as the voice of the community for the past couple months and have brought people in the area together to work toward getting these problems solved. They have a blog, www.fixtheroad.blogspot.com, where they post updates on the project.

On Tuesday, DOH representatives Greg Phillips, deputy secretary of transportation; Mike Roncone, highway administrator; and Ray Urse, assistant maintenance engineer, provided information and answered questions from the audience.

Due to regulations that must be met, a large paving project like this generally takes six to eight months from start to finish. Phillips explained that in order to do paving, the division has to follow the proper procedures to make sure that the road is conditionally sound and will last many years.

“It’s 100 percent go,” he assured the community members, and DOH is just working to clear all the hoops right now.

The bids for reconstructing the base of the road are ready to be sent out, and companies will have four to six weeks to respond. Also in the coming weeks, the culverts should come in and the potholes should be patched, Phillips said The project includes digging ditches, replacing 18 pipes, and then a full-depth reclamation of the road, Roncone and Urse explained. As long as the weather cooperates, DOH hopes to put down tar and chip, which is less expensive than asphalt paving, in October or November, Phillips said.

“I believe this will be completed before winter,” he said.

The division is going to spend more money on Pricketts Creek and Tunnel Hollow than any other road project in the state, Phillips said. The endeavor will cost approximately $435,000.

“I’m sure that you all are going to have a beautiful road to travel on,” he said.

House Majority Whip Mike Caputo said he and fellow Marion County Delegates Tim Manchin and Linda Longstreth met with the residents of Pricketts Creek and Tunnel Hollow roads in April and recognized that they were facing a huge problem. This road was one of the worst they had seen, so they made it a priority.

The delegates convinced DOH that this road was worthy of funding and found the money for the project. Because taxpayers’ dollars are going into this project, it’s important to first make sure that the base of the road is adequate so money won’t be wasted, Caputo said.

He commented that he believes the division will in fact get the road fixed before snow starts falling.

“We support your efforts,” Caputo said.

Brodsky pointed out that the last half mile of Tunnel Hollow Road is in great need of repairs, but is not included in the project. She said the community members actually want to see all of these plans come to life and will be thankful when the road is actually fixed. The residents are frustrated because they haven’t noticed anything happening so far, Heston added. Manchin said many roads are in need of repair in the state, and unfortunately there just aren’t enough funds to take care of them all.

“We’re fortunate to be getting this kind of money spent on this project,” he said. “There was a lot of competition for this money.”

Manchin thanked the citizens for sharing their concerns and said he is confident that the necessary repairs will happen.

Caputo said the delegation is very concerned about road damage caused by heavy logging trucks and is looking at some bonding issues. In the administration right now, a lot of emphasis is being placed on the problem of logging companies destroying state roads, Manchin added.

E-mail Jessica Borders at jborders@timeswv.com.

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