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MORGANTOWN, W. Va.–The planning and design stages of the proposed I-79 Harmony Grove interchange for the Morgantown Industrial Park (MIP) is moving forward.
Morgantown Metropolitan Planning Organization Bill Austin said the project has been moved up on the project priority list.
Most recently, the project has been moved to the Tier 1 priority list which means it will be completed within the next 8 to 10 years. But, Austin said an enormous amount of work is required to expand or add exits to the interstate highway system.
“The interstate is the biggest federal investment in our country that we have and protecting it’s capacity and making sure it is serving the needs of the community is very important,” Austin said on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.”
The interchange will be a vital part of Mountaintop Beverage. Mountaintop Beverage is expected to operate up to 100 semi-trucks daily from the Morgantown Industrial Park. Additionally, reports indicate when the project is officially announced other expansion announcements are expected when project bids are awarded to a contractor.
“There are several potential expansions or additions to the industrial park that would require direct access to the interstate,” Austin said.
The most recent step is the Interchange Justification Report. That report is completed by the developer, Enroute Properties and consultant to show the scope of work to the DOH.
“We’re at the point where the DOH and the consultant are reviewing what the study says and preparing a presentation for the Department of Highways,” Austin said.
According to Austin, when the project is complete it will be a very unique set of opportunities to the region.
“The thing to remember about the industrial park is it’s actually a truly multimodal facility,” Austin said. “It has rail access, it has barge access and with this it will have interstate access, which is really a confluence that very few areas within the state have.”