By Liz Beavers
lbeavers@newstribune.info
tribune managing editor
BURLINGTON — At least one member of the U.S. Route 50 Association would like to see the West Virginia Division of Highways straighten out some of the hairpin turns in the portion of the national highway that snakes through Mineral County.
Gary Howell of Keyser told WVDOH representatives Bill Woods and Brian Carr Wednesday during a regular meeting of the Route 50 Association held in Burlington that local DOH crews have already removed part of the mountainside at at least two turns that he was aware of in the county.
With the dirt already removed, he said it should be relatively easy to complete the work of straightening the turns.
One area, he said, is located just below the three-lane highway in the Ridgeville area, and was formerly the site of a weekly flea market until the property was posted and the practice banned.
The other area he cited is located above Dorsey’s Curve on Allegheny Mountain.
“The removal of the earth has already been done and they could take those sharp turns out,” he said.
Noting that the work would have been done by the local DOH, Carr said he felt sure the dirt was
removed to improve visibility and not with the intentions of straightening the curves.
He went on to explain that it is the DOH’s theory that straightening curves on rugged terrain such as Allegheny Mountain only invites motorists to speed up and then find themselves traveling at too high a rate of speed to safely negotiate the next turn.
“But if you follow that philosophy, we would never improve any road across the country,” Howell said.
Mineral County Commissioner Wayne Spiggle, who serves as chairman of the Route 50 Association, used the discussion as an opportunity to note that the local representatives of the WVDOH should be invited to participate in the organization.
“We need to make sure they are around this table,” he said. “They are needed at these meetings.”
The next regularly-scheduled meeting of the Route 50 Association is set for Jan. 21 at a location to be announced in Grant County.
Burlington, W.Va. —
