Whenever paving projects are announced or future paving projects are listed, the lack of a West Virginia Division of Highways paving effort on Route 131 – Benedum Drive – almost always draws ire from area residents. As it relates Route 131 in the future, there’s now one on the books.

 

That’s the good news. The bad news for residents of Bridgeport that speak the loudest is that it’s not the section of Route 131 they would like to see paved.

 

For the last few years, many in the community have voiced their concern about the deteriorating conditions of Route 131 between Route 50 and the on and off ramps of State Route 27 with particular emphasis on the area near the Bridgeport Recreation Complex. That’s not part of the planned project.

 

The WVDOH’s fall paving program includes a paving program almost one mile long on parts of the roadway. The estimated cost of the project is listed at $348,000.

 

“That project will be let the first part of August with what will more than likely be an October or November completion date. That time frame isn’t concrete or the project itself, but with it being programmed in it should be on track in that time span,” said Jason Nelson, the WVDOH District 4 Construction Engineer.

 

Bridgeport Mayor Andy Lang was happy to hear some paving was taking place on what is a city roadway because more parts of Route 131 than the one going in the aforementioned area is in bad shape. This area of paving begins near the former Saltwell Exxon station that has been demolished and heads out toward the bridge crossing Interstate 79 near the auto auction area.

 

“I’m happy to see any paving of a road going through the city that’s under the state’s jurisdiction,” said Lang. “The DOH is like the City of Bridgeport when it comes to paving. They have their list and their criteria showing roads with the most need and they run through their list and the system. There’s nothing wrong with that because we do the same thing.”

 

That doesn’t mean Lang and the city don’t want to see the other section of Route 131 addressed. In fact, they’re doing everything they can to get it done sooner as opposed to later.

 

“We have continued to stay in touch with the Division of Highways. We’ve continued to meet with them and we have more meetings actually planned where we plan on talking to them about the condition of 131 all the way from Saltwell to the entrance of the (North Central West Virginia) Airport,” said Lang.

 

Lang believes the city has some ammunition that will make the state consider doing the work in an upcoming paving cycle. The mayor said Route 131 is the sixth heaviest traveled roadway in Harrison County and growth in the area is only going to see the number of travelers expand.

 

“You’re seeing growth at White Oaks and Charles Pointe that feeds into that. You’ve got the new Bridgeport Heights development that will feed into as a cut through for that development and others,” said Lang. “On top of that, you’ve got the indoor recreation complex coming on line and that’s another major traffic producer.”

 

Nelson said usage factors into decisions regarding what gets paved as well as the condition of the road in question. He said it’s not unusual for the priority of a roadway to change and move up or even down the list.

 

“If we see an increase in traffic then typically a section of it may become more of a priority. It’s easier to do when the decision makers know about growth and see projects in the works that cause growth,” said Nelson. “That allows for a reprioritization. I’m not saying that stretch of road isn’t a priority, but it may be further down the list.”

 

In the interim, Bridgeport officials will continue to do what they can to make sure the roadway in question gets looked at closer and, hopefully, is approved as part of next year’s paving cycle in the spring or fall.

 

“We’re going to continue to lobby for it because we believe it’s badly needed,” said Lang. “I don’t think the road was ever meant to carry that much of a traffic load, but it’s carry a substantial load now and it’s going to increase.”

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows the problematic area near the Bridgeport Recreation Complex city officials have lobbied to be paved and repaired, while an illustration is below that showing where the actual Route 131 paving project will take place. Bottom photo shows Mayor Andy Lang.