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Hundreds of road projects identified in District 3

Keller Lane between Parkersburg and Boaz is the highest-priority secondary road project in Wood County, according to documents from the West Virginia Division of Highways District 3. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

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PARKERSBURG — When it comes to repairing the secondary roads that need it most in the West Virginia Division of Highways District 3, it’s going to take time and a whole lot of spending money to do it right.

The district — which includes Wood, Wirt, Calhoun, Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie and Roane counties — will also need more workers and equipment to tackle hundreds of proposed projects submitted at the request of Gov. Jim Justice.

“We had 72 hours to put this road list together,” District 3 Engineer/Manager Justin Smith said in reference to the timeframe laid out last week by Gov. Jim Justice. “It’s going to take three or four years to do what we want to do.”

The lists contain a combined 528 proposed projects in six of the district’s counties. The seventh, Roane County, is broken out between slips, bridge and other structure replacements and road repairs and identifies more than 640 potential work areas.

Keller Lane between Parkersburg and Boaz is the highest-priority secondary road project in Wood County, according to documents from the West Virginia Division of Highways District 3. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

While each list has priority rankings, that may not reflect the order in which they’re done. Smith said timing, cost and other factors will make that determination.

The proposed work will cover hundreds of the more than 4,000 miles of secondary roads in the district, Smith said. While those are primarily county and home access roads for subdivisions outside of city limits, some state and U.S. roads are in the proposals, including Grand Central Avenue in Vienna.

The work includes slip repairs, ditching, grading, culverts, shoulder stabilization, concrete repair and paving. There’s too much to do with the district’s current equipment and manpower.

“We need 51 extra people to accomplish this task,” Smith said.

That number rises to 78 when existing vacancies are factored in, he said. Many of those would be temporary workers, although some would have an opportunity to be hired on permanently.

The list submitted to the state also outlines more than 100 vehicles and other equipment, from skid-steers to excavators, the district needs.

Smith anticipates the next step being to come up with cost estimates for the projects identified.

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Here’s a look at the top five ranked projects in each District 3 county.

∫ Wood County

1. Keller Lane — Ditch, culverts, pave, shoulder stabilization, slips

2. Gihon Road — Ditch, culverts, pave, shoulder stabilization

3. Lee Creek Road, 4.37 miles — Ditch, culverts, pave, shoulder stabilization, slips

4. Lee Creek Road, mile 4.38 miles — Ditch, culverts, pave, shoulder stabilization

5. Staunton Turnpike, 8.9 miles — Ditch, culverts, pave, shoulder stabilization, slips

∫ Wirt County

1. Tuckers Creek Road — Resurface, ditch, pothole, base failure, pipes

2. Brohard Road — Resurface, ditch, pothole, base failure, pipes

3. Gant Hill Road — Resurface, ditch, pothole, base failure, pipes

4. Enterprise Road — Resurface, ditch, pothole, base failure, pipes, slip

5. Little Kanawha Parkway — 700 feet of slip repair

∫ Calhoun County

1. Munday Road — Resurface 3.88 miles, pipe, ditch, pothole, base failures

2. Russett Road — Resurface 5.24 miles, pipe, ditch, pothole, base failures

3. Nicut Road — Resurface 5.13 miles, pipe, ditch, pothole, base failures

4. Oka Road — Resurface 3.65 miles, pipe, ditch, pothole, base failures

5. Altizer Road — Resurface 3.46 miles, pipe, ditch, pothole, base failures

∫ Jackson County

1. Spencer Road — Slip repair, spot ditch

2. Straight Fork Road — Wash-outs, base failures, huge holes, cut brush, ditch, grade and stone

3. Wells Hollow Road — Slide at mile marker 1.1, cut brush, grade and stone, potholes

4. Beatty’s Run Road — Ditch, grade and stone, pipes

5. Camelight Ridge Road — Ditch, grade and stone

∫ Pleasants County

1. West Virginia 16 — Slip repairs, shoulder damage

2. West Virginia 2 — Slip repair, shoulder damage

3. Java Run Road — Slip repairs, ditch, culvert, 2-inch overlay

4. Bull Creek Road — Slip repairs, ditch, culvert, shoulder work, stone added

5. Limestone Road — Slip repair, ditch, 2-inch overlay

∫ Ritchie County

1. Staunton Turnpike (Dutchman Road to Wirt County line) — Resurface, ditch, long arm mowing, slip repair

2. Staunton Turnpike (Gilmer County line to Tanner Road) — Resurface, ditch, long arm mowing, slip repair

3. Staunton Turnpike (Tanner Road to Dutchman Road) — Resurface, ditch, long arm mowing, slip repair

4. Auburn Road (Berea to Gilmer County line) — Ditch, resurface, pipe replacement, slip repair

5. Auburn Road (Pullman to Berea) — Ditch, resurface, pipe replacement

∫ Roane County

1. Ambler Road — 170-foot slip repair

2. Ambler Road — 50-foot slip repair

3. Clay Road — 130-foot slip repair

4. Parkersburg Road — 200-foot slip repair

5. Parkersburg Road — 392-foot slip repair

Source: West Virginia Division of Highways, District 3

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