A bridge commemorating a village settled in Summers County in 1772, is being replaced. But the project is providing more than just a new bridge for vehicle traffic.
The Project
Andy Powell, District 9 Project Engineer for the West Virginia Division Highways says the bridge needed to be replaced for safety and financial reasons.
The height and weight limits are set for trucks during the 1950’s. Powell points out that trucks are larger these days. The new bridge will be stronger and be able to carry heavier loads.
Credit Jessica Lilly
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Construction crews are removing material from this hill side and will move to help build a new boat dock.
The $29 million project will also give a boost to the recreational community. The material that’s being taken basically off a mountain to widen the road will be relocated to help provide a wider boating dock area. The current lake access off of route 20 is said to have a steep angle that’s tough to navigate.
The 1200 feet long bridge is expected to open to traffic by summer of 2015, completion of the whole project is set for completion by June 30, 2016.
Bridging History
The existing Lilly Bridge was built in 1950. The bridge was built around the same time as the Bluestone Dam when about 50 families were forced to move because the federal government worried that the creation of the dam would flood the Village of Lilly, hence the name the Lilly Bridge.
According to the Lilly Family History records, Lilly was a Village at the Bluestone and Little Bluestone Rivers in Summers County settled in 1772.
“It was said that they came here with a rifle, a bible and an ax to settle this rugged area,” National Park Ranger Teena Lilly said in the West Virginia Public Broadcasting documentary “Three Rivers”.
“The graves were exhumed, families were moved, and homes were torn down because they believed that Lilly would be under water.”
Very little remains of the actual village since the Federal Government forced residents off the land. The family is left with the bridge and a monument to remember their homeland. The new bridge will keep the Lilly name.
Morgantown City Council passed an ordinance 6-1 that limits heavy trucks traveling through the city’s downtown area along State Route 7.
The Action
For years residents and businesses have complained about the truck traffic. After a short public hearing and an hour and a half of deliberation, last night’s vote is the first real action to address those concerns.
A similar attempt to limit truck traffic was made in 2006. Morgantown City Council at that time elected to negotiate with the Department of Highways and local industry to find a meaningful solution; however, negotiations failed to remedy the problem.
This effort was lead by a group called Safe Streets Morgantown, which crafted the ordinance.
“The ordinance was specifically written to be easily enforced,” said Evan Hansen is a local downtown business owner and member of the group Safe Streets Morgantown. He spoke during the public hearing that preceded the vote.
“To be clear, this is not an overweight truck ordinance,” Hansen said. “No scales are required because the ordinance is based on the trucks declared gross weight which is written on the registration card.”
The Rule
The proposed ordinance would see trucks weighing 13 tons or more rerouted around the downtown. There’s a list of exceptions to the rule:
Trucks moving merchandise for downtown businesses
Emergency or Military Vehicles
Governmental Vehicles
Solid Waste Disposal Vehicles
Vehicles used for towing
Vehicles on an Established Detour
Vehicles with special permits from the city manager
Questions that held up a vote were mostly those concerning enforcement such as personnel, training, equipment, and signage. Even though no one showed up to speak against the ordinance, there’s a lot of uncertainty among council members and the city manager about how the ordinance will be received by the state and federal departments of highways as well as companies which might doubt the city’s ability to enforce such an order.
The Debate
Earlier this summer the West Virginia Department of Highways said such an ordinance would not be valid without approval from the Commissioner of Highways. City manager Jeff Mikorski said earlier that approval was unlikely.
In the end, council members mostly agreed that if challenged, the ordinance would likely stand in a court of law. The one member who voted against the ordinance said he wasn’t comfortable enough with the plan to vote “yes.”
Council members did pass an amendment to make the ordinance effective 90 days from passage, instead of immediately. They hope the three-month window of time is sufficient to work out the logistics of implementation.
We often hear about urban cities, like Detroit, that are dealing with abandoned, dilapidated buildings. But some communities in West Virginia are struggling with neighborhood blight too.
The WV Hub is working with partners across West Virginia to plan a three day event in Huntington this October. The summit will help people across West Virginia who are working to fix blighted, abandoned and dilapidated properties. Civic groups in Huntington have been collaborating on this type of work and have made great strides recently.
And in Charleston, two non-profits are working to rebuild and remove dilapidated homes in their neighborhood, known as the West Side Flats.
Credit Roxy Todd
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This building was once Dr. Hopson’s office
At the heart of the West Side Flats neighborhood is Mary C. Snow elementary school. This neighborhood has the second highest percentage of African American residents in West Virginia.
The school itself is named in honor of West Virginia’s first female African American principal of an integrated school. Snow was not only an educator- she was also known for her civic engagement in this neighborhood. And for most community organizers here, like Reverend Matthew J. Watts, the memory of the real Mary C. Snow is a reminder of what individuals can do to help revive the West Side.
“Some people just stay here, they want to see it turn around again, and we believe that it can. Despite the vacant houses, there’s still 4,000 reasons on the broader West Side, those are the kids. That is why we should fight. They deserve a chance to live a safe, wholesome, healthy place that inspires them,” says Watts.
Watts is the CEO of a non-profit called HOPE Community Development Corporation. He says the dilapidation of buildings reduces home values and can become a magnet for crime.
Credit PBS NewsHour/Sam Weber
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Roxy Todd speaking with Reverend Watts on 2nd Avenue, in front of one of the homes that Bob Hardy and the Charleston Economic Development Corporation built.
“On those four blocks, there are 61 vacant structures—61. And they pose a public health threat in terms of public safety, health, etc. for the children and families. And we believe that it contributes to the overall negative feelings this neighborhood has.”
But as Watts walks along 3rd Avenue and points to homes with fresh flowerbeds out front and houses that are well maintained, he says its clear that not everyone on the West Side has given up hope.
Credit Roxy Todd
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A vacant lot on 3rd Ave. that is being maintained as a green space
Many of the houses here still posses a historic charm from the days when this was an up and coming neighborhood for middle class African American families.
During segregation, this was also the cultural center of activity for the black community in Charleston, including tourists who were not allowed to stay downtown. But now, middle class families have moved away.
Credit Roxy Todd
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Vacant home along 3rd Ave.
In the last year, Reverend Watts and his organization has spent $250,000 to remove asbestos and prepare 12 vacant homes for demolition. The removal of these structures was a partnership between HOPE CDC, the city of Charleston, and the Charleston Urban Renewal Authority.
Bob Hardy has been helping this neighborhood since the 1990’s. Before anyone else had a vision to restore this neighborhood, Hardy was working to rehab dilapidated homes along 2nd Avenue.
Credit Roxy Todd
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Bob Hardy, standing in front of one of the 10 affordable houses that he helped build
Hardy’s father was a shop teacher, and he is a licensed contractor himself. As executive director of the Charleston Economic Community Development Corporation, he has helped build 10 new homes in the West Side flats neighborhood. He’s helped rehab about 50 houses.
Hardy grew up in the West Side Hills, which looks down into this neighborhood. His vision for restoring this area came because he believes it’s like the front yard of the entire West Side. He sees the potential here to develop affordable housing because of the neighborhood’s close proximity to downtown.
The community here has been supporting a large part of these efforts, even though 1 in 3 residents here are living in poverty.
And though he’s been involved in this work for over 20 years, Hardy says he believes the neighborhood is going to turn around and the people here are going to pull themselves out of poverty.
“The race is not given to the swift or to the strong, but to those who endure until the end. My mother gave me that. Never quit.”
Together, Hardy and Watts working to continue to rehab homes here on the West Side. They are each cautiously optimistic that Charleston officials can partner with them more in the future to restore the West Side flats neighborhood.
During the tour of the West Side flats neighborhood, Roxy Todd met up with a few correspondents from the PBS NewsHour who were visiting the Mary C. Snow school. Their story, “Summer slide: the year-round solution”, will air on September 7 on PBS NewsHour Weekend.
Credit PBS NewsHour/Sam Weber
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Reverend Watts speaks with PBS NewsHour correspondent Alison Stewart
The chairman of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Highways says the group will release its final report in late September almost a year after its initially set release date.
Jason Pizatella tells the Charleston Gazette the report is undergoing proofreading and editing.
Gov. Tomblin created the Blue Ribbon Commission nearly two years ago with the goal of issuing recommendations on how to better fund the state’s roadways. Commission members approved their recommendations in September of 2013, but the final report was delayed.
Pizatella says the delay was because of multiple reasons, but conceded that one was because lawmakers didn’t want to vote on tax increasing during an election year. But legislative committees have asked for the final report to be available for legislative interim meetings next month.
He says the final report doesn’t make any changes from the recommendations finalized last year.
Commissioners said the state needs to nearly double its road fund budget, from one to at least 2 billion dollars a year to adequately build and maintain the state highway system.
Lincoln County has been awarded more than a million dollars by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to extend clean water services in the county.
The rural development grant completes a multi-million dollar financial package for the Lincoln County project.
Congressman Nick Rahall’s office announced the funding yesterday and says the project will serve an additional 81 families in the Lower Mud River area.
