Area officials seek answers from WVDOH

Craig Howell ON THE DOTTED LINE – Weirton Mayor Harold Miller signs a resolution approved by Weirton Council Friday morning, authorizing an open letter to the West Virginia Division of Highways expressing concerns over the state of local infrastructure. Also pictured is City Clerk Kimberly Long.

WEIRTON – Area officials are hoping a united front will help to get answers concerning the maintenance, or lack thereof, of infrastructure from the West Virginia Division of Highways.

Weirton Council met in special session Friday morning, unanimously approving a resolution authorizing an open letter be sent to the WVDOH and others over what they said was “neglect and non-communication” which has led to “crippling closures and low-grade road and highway maintenance.”

“This is a resolution and letter, let’s say, out of frustration,” Ward 3 Councilman Fred Marsh said.

According to Marsh, area officials have reached out to DOH representatives about a variety of concerns over the years, including the condition of various state roads in Weirton, U.S. Route 22, disrepair to highway lights and more.

“It all came to a head in recent weeks,” Marsh said, making reference to the unexpected closures of two of the region’s major bridges: The Market Street Bridge connecting an area north of Follansbee with Steubenville, and the Jennings Randolph Bridge connecting Chester and East Liverpool. The Veterans Memorial Bridge, between Weirton and Steubenville, meanwhile, has had traffic limitations in place for the last two years as part of ongoing maintenance. “We’ve gone as far as we can.”

According to a copy of the letter, Weirton officials have been requesting assistance from DOH since January 2021 to address what they described as “lighting failures on our busiest highways.”

The letter notes that in November 2021, 168 of the 492 lights on state Route 2 and U.S. Route 22 in the area did not function. As of Dec. 12, 98 of those lights remain dark, Weirton officials report.

“We’re always told it’s one crew for the entire state to address those things,” said Weirton City Manager Mike Adams.

The surface conditions of those roads also were called in question in the letter, which claims experimental patching techniques applied by the WVDOH have made them worse. More rural roads, such as Washington Pike in Wellsburg, also were pointed out in the letter, along with overgrowth and fallen trees officials said often are cleared by local volunteer fire departments.

“All that being said, the help that the local DOH garages give is appreciated but it seems their resources are limited, and dare we say, diverted to central and southern areas like Morgantown, Parkersburg, Charleston and Beckley,” the letter states.

Officials noted the amount of support from state and federal officials in encouraging economic development in the region, but said the condition of the roads may have a negative effect on those continuing efforts.

Weirton officials were joined Friday by representatives of the cities of Steubenville, New Cumberland, Chester and Wellsburg, as well as area legislators and leaders of local business, tourism and development.

Steubenville City Manager Jim Mavromatis encouraged reaching out directly to Gov. Jim Justice on the matter, adding, while much of the concerns are located in West Virginia, the condition of local bridges has an impact on residents from throughout the region, and he will contact Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to see what support may be found there.

“Steubenville and Weirton are sister cities. We go back and forth,” he said of the travel and commerce across the Ohio River.

Mavromatis also encouraged a regional push for a growing effort to replace the Market Street Bridge with a new span.

Hancock County Commission President Jeff Davis noted the issues faced by residents and businesses in the northern areas of the county following the closure of the Jennings Randolph Bridge, saying businesses in Chester have seen a 30% to 50% drop in commerce.

“We’re all in this boat together,” Davis said, noting the Jennings Randolph Bridge could be closed for another three weeks to three months while efforts to repair it move forward.

Ed Wedgewood, mayor of Chester, reinforced those concerns.

“Imagine the main artery into town being shut down,” he said, encouraging preparation for the worst and hope for the best.

Brenda Mull, president of the Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce, agreed the conditions of local infrastructure will have an effect on economic development.

“When these businesses come in, they look at roads. They look at access,” she said.

Jonathan Smith, project manager for Bidell Gas Compression, noted the need for roads to be in good condition to transport the company’s gas compressor units, which can be around 150,000 pounds, from its facility in Weirton’s north end.

Rachel Keeney, executive director of the Top of West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau, said while precise data isn’t yet available, there are concerns the condition of roads and the closure of bridges will limit travel and access to area communities.

“It’s pretty obvious it’s going to have a negative impact,” she said, explaining Cleveland and Columbus are two of the main markets currently targeted by the CVB.

Mayor Dan Dudley of Wellsburg noted his own affinity for visiting Steubenville for concerts and holiday attractions.

“This hurts a lot of people,” he said of the issues with the bridges, in particular.

New Cumberland Mayor Will White also offered his support.

While neither signed on to the letter, both Del. Mark Zatezalo, R-Hancock, and state Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, R-Wheeling, said they understood the concerns and are willing to distribute the letter to others in Charleston, as well as DOH leadership.

(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com)

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Fort Pitt museum closing for maintenance in January

PITTSBURGH — One of the Senator John Heinz History Center family of museums will temporarily close in January.

Officials say the Fort Pitt Museum will close from Jan. 1 to Feb. 1 for exhibition maintenance and updates.

During the closure, museum curators will do tasks such as updating lighting, performing maintenance, cleaning the iconic diorama and installing new objects.

Staff will also be traveling to hands-on historical workshops with the Delaware Tribe of Indians, one of several federally recognized tribes whose homelands include Western Pa.

Visitors can still see the Guyasuta: The Life and Legend of a Seneca Chief exhibit in the few days left before the closure. Children also get free admission through Dec. 31.

Click here for more information on the museum.

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Answer Line: Elections letter a normal process

Editor’s note: This column was originally published in September 2021.

QUESTION: My 84-year-old-mother recently received a letter from the Gregg County elections office that said the office was trying to verify her address because she might have moved. She has been registered to vote at the same address for more than 20 years. Can you find out why she got this letter? Is this a routine process or is someone else using my mother’s address?

ANSWER: Your mother was one of about 6,000 people who received this letter, and it is part of a routine process that is part of an effort to make sure the elections office has the correct address for voters so they can receive their voter registration cards, for instance.

I spoke to Elections Administrator Jennifer Briggs, who explained to me that through the National Change of Address process, the postal service notifies her office if any of the addresses in the elections office’s system are different from what is reflected in post office records. The issue with your mother’s address was a post office box address.

That’s pretty common. Briggs said about 6,000 notices were sent out through this process, and a majority of those were probably related to people forgetting that they had a post office box number that had changed or that they no longer had and they had not notified the elections office of the change.

“They forget when they sign up with their residential address, if they have a post office box and change it, they have to let us know,” Briggs said.

Q: If a Texas governor abused their power by, for example, using emergency powers to issue decrees that actually harm the citizens of the state, does the state have a system that would allow a recall election or impeachment? If so, how does the system work?

A: Texas law does not have provisions allowing recall of the governor. Our state does have an impeachment and removal process that could apply to the governor, but that process involves criminal issues.

Q: The walking trail at South Ward Community Park on Mobberly is overgrown and in need of mowing. Who is responsible for that?

A: South Ward Community Park was a joint project of the City of Longview and Longview ISD back when it opened in 1999, and they share responsibilities for the park. Parks Director Scott Caron told me the city handles inspections and playground equipment maintenance as well as “weekly litter patrols.” Longview ISD handles grounds maintenance, including mowing and trimming.

The park was pretty overgrown (I stopped in to see when I began working on this question), but I checked on it again this week, and it looks like it had been mowed.

“Yes, the district has a work crew that mows the park, along with various other campuses and facilities. However, we have been behind on mowing a few times this summer due to unexpected rains,” said Mike Gipson in Longview ISD maintenance. “Typically, we like to get back to an area around every seven to eight working days but, of course, inclement weather can throw the schedule off. In response to this concern, I did go over there to inspect the park myself, and saw an area near one of the entrances that had not been trimmed the last time the crew was there. I am addressing that promptly this morning, and expect it to be taken care of in a timely fashion. We encourage any local citizens with these kinds of questions or concerns to please contact the district directly.”

— Answer Line appears Wednesday and in the Weekend edition. Email questions to answerline@news-journal.com, leave a message at (903) 232-7208 or write to P.O. Box 1792, Longview, TX 75606.