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WVDOH selects plan for Route 2 project in New Cumberland

NEW CUMBERLAND — A plan has been selected for a proposed rerouting of a portion of state Route 2 in Hancock County.

A letter provided to The Weirton Daily Times this week shows officials with the West Virginia Division of Highways have chosen a preferred pathway for the realignment of Route 2 through New Cumberland, a project discussed over the last several years.

The letter was dated June 18 and signed by Byrd White III, secretary of transportation and commissioner of highways.

“Due consideration has been given to all alternatives and we have decided to move forward with Alternative 4,” White states in the letter. “As for the project schedule, the current plan is to advertise for a Design Build project in the Spring of 2021.”

Alternative 4, as described under the proposals from the DOH, would create a short bypass of the existing road, beginning near Hardins Run, parallel to the railroad tracks and ending on Ridge Avenue near the library. In the fall of 2019, the project had an estimated cost of $6.9 million.

According to White’s letter, the DOH took six categories into consideration when making its decision: safety, cost, funding and intangibles, environmental concerns, right of way and utilities, and design.

Other proposed project alternatives, and their potential costs, included:

¯ Alternative 1: Improve the 90-degree turns by widening the existing alignment, including intersection improvements at Madison and Chester streets, estimated to cost $3.9 million;

¯ Alternative 2: Improve the 90-degree turns by shifting the road between them approximately 70 feet south, also improving the Madison and Chester streets intersection, at $4.2 million;

¯ Alternative 3: Similar to Alternative 1, but improving the inside radius at the intersection of Madison and Chester streets, at $4.9 million;

¯ Alternative 5A: Create new routing for Route 2 through New Cumberland, beginning at the intersection of Chestnut and Madison streets, running closer to the Ohio River generally following South Chestnut Street, Pottery Road and Industrial Park Road to Ridge Avenue, at $15.9 million.

Another option would have been to take no action.

Area legislators, along with members of the Hancock County Commission, met with DOH officials in January to discuss the project, promoting the use of Alternative 5A, with officials noting it was the option supported most by Hancock County residents.

(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com, and followed via Twitter @CHowellWDT)

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