MPO to study Don Knotts pedestrian bridge

Aug. 15—Is it feasible and where should it go ?

The Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board on Thursday approved the scope of work for a study to answer those questions regarding a pedestrian bridge over Don Knotts Boulevard.

The city of Morgantown has long coveted a connection between the 1st Ward /White Park area and the riverfront.

Further, the MPO has identified such a connection as a Tier 1 wish list project.

In October 2023, the policy board approved $400, 000 in Surface Transportation Block Grant dollars to cover the engineering costs for a Don Knotts crossing.

But those funds were conditional upon feedback from the West Virginia Division of Highways.

Turns out the DOH has questions.

"They expressed concerns about the potential feasibility of building that pedestrian bridge, particularly given the steepness of the hill from 1st Ward coming down to that area, " MPO Executive Director Bill Austin said, explaining the DOH has fears about the scope of work necessary to make such a bridge ADA compliant.

The feasibility study, which will be bid out to the organization's on-call consultants, will be paid for by the MPO.

Austin said the study's primary purpose is to determine what it would take to complete the project and where it should be located.

In response to the DOH's concerns, Morgantown City Councilor Jenny Selin said dealing with topography issues is part of every project in the region.

"We have topography in our area and people with ADA issues and all other issues need to figure out ways to surmount it. I'm sure that Pittsburgh has all kinds of ways of surmounting topography. There must be a good way to do this, " she said.

Austin said the project is certainly possible, but at what cost.

"I am a firm believer that with enough money you can do just about anything, " he said. "This will identify the cost, so we'll understand that better."

In other news, the board adjusted its Transportation Improvement Plan at the request of the DOH to reflect an increase in the cost of the Green Bag Road project to $21, 350, 000.

The long-awaited, and somewhat controversial, project will impact 1.65 miles of Green Bag Road between Napa Auto Parts and Aarons Creek Road. It will include a widening of Green Bag Road and roundabouts at the intersections of Green Bag Road and Mississippi Street and Green Bag Road and Kingwood Pike /Dorsey Avenue. It will also add various pedestrian and stormwater upgrades to the area.

In May, the DOH put the cost of the work at $19 million and told The Dominion Post dirt could begin moving by the end of the year.

"It's like a lot of things, the original cost estimates were programmed and as we keep moving forward, we get more and more refined with our cost estimates, " DOH representative Brian Carr said Thursday. "Operating with everything we've got going on, the price has gone up on a lot of things."

Lastly, Austin indicated the DOH has the bids for the new Morgantown Industrial Park access bridge project in hand.

The board asked Austin to enquire about the bids, with a specific interest in any potential impacts to the rail-trail system during construction.