Our meeting for January 16 is canceled.
After talking to some members and with Brian Carr of the WVDOH, I find that we do not have a sufficient agenda to warrant the travel and time involved for the meeting scheduled this Wednesday. So, as your facilitator, I'm deferring this meeting to our next regularly scheduled agenda on March 19. Assuming the standing invitation from the Garrett County Commission is still good, we will meet there. As usual, the time will be 1:00 p.m. preceded by a 12:00 p.m. lunch. The location and other meeting specifics will be forwarded to you prior to the meeting.
We do have an important agenda for the March meeting. At the initiative of Gary and others, representatives of the Federal Delegation have been invited to present an overview of their perspectives and programs impacting U.S. Rt. 50 and other regional transportation issues. Be sure to mark your calendar now and keep in mind that we will continue to have every other month meetings on the third Wednesday.
In the interval, it is my intention to work with our member county commissions to generate some funding for West Virginians for Better Transportation (WVFBT). We are members of this coalition and they depend on contributions from members to enable them to promote their essential message. The needed upgrades we are advocating for U.S. Rt. 50 require money and transportation funding in WV must have a paradigm change if we are to go forward. WVFBT is our best hope that new ways to finance transportation infrastructure will be found. We need to support them financially.
I'm welcoming members and county commissions to give me input regarding our future efforts as a coalition. I'm hoping that as the next series of meetings shifts to Preston and Taylor Counties, agenda input will come from that neck of the woods. Please contact me with your comments and suggestions about how, working together, we can be more relevant and successful.
Thank you,
Wayne Spiggle
304-726-4868
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
US 50 Coast to Coast needs help
Wulf Berg of US 50 Coast to Coast Received the following question and requested help answering it. While it is not in our section, somebody may know something. If so please contact Wulf Burg via E@mail.
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Dear Wulf,
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Dear Wulf,
And a Merry Christmas to you all, too!
I have a question about Route 50. Do you know anything about the newer stretch between eas tof Lebanon, IL and Illinois 127 at Carlyle, Illinois? That seems to have been planned as a 4-lane stretch. There are interchanges for towns, as Trenton and Breese with short 4-lane stretches. There are at least three "ghost" bridges across streams for a never-completed 4-lane alignment. It appears thatmay ha been aborted when I-64 was completed. US 460as decommissioned in 1977 or so.It shared alignment with Illinois 15 from near E. St. Louis to Mt. Vernon, then is now Illinois 142 to Mcleansbrro and then Illinois 14 to New Harmony, IN, across the Wabash toll bridge to New Harmony, thence Indiana 66.
There were some earlier attempts of 4-laneing US 50 east of Salem, around Xenia, Olney, and Lawreceville. Parts of old U. S. 50 are now Illinois 250. The freeway stretch between Lawrenceville and Vincennes was an early alignment of I-64. Then, they decided to move it south to be nearer at Evansville IN, which has spur I-164, and a proposes extension of I-69.
George Richard "Rick" Carlisle, Jr.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Reply from WVDOH on GPS Warning Signs
In your correspondence, you expressed the US 50 Association's concerns regarding the effects of GPS navigational systems on traffic volumes and safety on US 50 between I-79 in Harrison County and New Creek in Mineral County. Specifically, the US 50 Association is requesting that signs warning GPS users of the characteristics of Route 50 be posted at both ends of this roadway segment.
Drivers who are planning a trip into unfamiliar territory use a variety of resources to select their routes. These include, but are not limited to, verbal or written directions from family members and/or friends; various types of maps; tour guide books and periodicals; advertising materials obtained from various business and governmental and private organizations; automobile clubs or travel services such as the American Automobile Association (AAA); Internet resources, such as MapQuest or Google Maps; or electronic devices such as GPS units.
Drivers use these tools, singly or in combination, to assist them in making route choices based on the time available; the lengths and other characteristics of various alternate routes; the probability of encountering road work or other sources of congestion and delay; weather; their assessments of their own skills; the availability of services; and many other tangible and intangible factors.
The West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) does not have the legal authority to require drivers to avoid a certain route unless there is some obstacle or condition which prevents the facility from being used by all vehicles, or by certain classes of vehicles. We also believe, given the wide range of travel planning resources and choices which are available, that the posting of warning signs, such as those the US 50 Association is suggesting, would have very little effect on the overall travel patterns that long distance, unfamiliar drivers will chose to take. These signs may also meet with some resistance from various institutions and businesses located along US 50 due to the potential diversion of their customers and visitors. We, therefore, must respectfully decline any requests to install these or similar signs, or to permit them to be installed on WVDOH right of way.
Should the US 50 Association still desire to pursue the installation of such signing, you can explore the option of placing your own signs on private property adjacent to the DOH right of way. However, certain other restrictions would apply, in that the WEST VIRGINIA CODE specifies that such signs located on property adjacent to WVDOH right of way cannot contain any commercial advertising; and that the signs may not be an imitation of or resemble an official traffic control device. This means that 1) certain color combinations incorporated into official highway regulatory signs (i.e. STOP, YIELD, DO NOT ENTER, SPEED LIMIT, WRONG WAY, etc.) and warning signs (i.e. CURVE AHEAD Symbol, PEDESTRIAN CROSSING Symbol, TRUCK CROSSING Symbol, ROAD WORK AHEAD, etc.) signs could not be used and 2) official highway signing shapes, such as diamonds (warning signs) or octagons (STOP signs), could not be used.
We understand and appreciate the concerns expressed in your e-mail. We continually monitor the operation and condition of US 50, and we attempt to address any identified deficiencies as rapidly as possible.
Thank you again for bringing this issue to our attention and for your Association's continuing efforts on behalf of the Division of Highways and the public. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office.
Director, Traffic Engineering
Capitol Complex
Telephone: 304.558.3722
Fax: 304.558.1209
Email: bwarhoftig@dot.state.wv.us
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