The new State Police barracks is being built on Lafayette Street in Fairmont. When completed it will replace the State Police Troop 1 Headquarters in Shinnston.
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — The new, $3 million state-of-the-art State Police facility being built in Fairmont will combine the current barracks on Country Club Road, as well as become new Troop 1 headquarters, replacing the Shinnston barracks.
According to State Police Captain Dennis Johnson, the new barracks, located on Lafayette Street, will be a considerable upgrade to both the old Fairmont barracks and the headquarters in Harrison County.
“It’ll be a new barracks to house the State Police for this area,” City Manager Robin Gomez said. “There will also be a garage where they will be able to do maintenance on their vehicles and whatever other equipment they have.”
“We can’t be there without it,” said Johnson, who is the State Police Troop 1 commander for the Shinnston barracks. “The headquarters (in Shinnston) is also a dispatch center. They dispatch six counties out of here. So in order to move our facility over there, we would need to have a radio tower.”
Johnson said moving from the Shinnston headquarters is long overdue.
“The building that we’re currently in was built in 1941, and it is basically falling down around us,” he said. “The structure is just outdated. The IT is outdated. The electric is outdated. (We have) a boiler system we can’t even get parts for.”
Johnson said that the Shinnston barracks’ roof leaks so bad, it requires two indoor gutter systems that carry the inside rain back out through the walls, and Johnson himself has a bucket in his office to catching water that drips from the ceiling.
Johnson is excited for the new barracks, which he said will allow for the State Police in the region to do their jobs more efficiently through updated technology and equipment.
The Shinnston building has been bought by a local developer, according to Johnson. He said that he didn’t know exactly what the developer has in store, but thinks that the property is more valuable than the building itself at this point.
“It’s within about a mile and half from the Interstate,” Gomez said. “It’s easier to get on and off I-79 out there. It’s a little bit less developed. I think (besides) convenience and ease of access, they want a bigger location, and there’s plenty of space out there.”
Gomez added the new facility should be open on or around the last week in November, depending on the weather.
“They really fast-tracked this so they could get it done,” Gomez said. “They were looking at a 90-day construction period. They’re working very quickly. When I drove by there the other day, they had quite a few people working on the structure, so they’re moving about as quickly as a construction project can.”
Despite the advantages of the new facility, Johnson said that he can’t help being attached to Shinnston’s current barracks.
“It’s bittersweet,” Johnson said. “I’ve been here for 22 years and this has always been headquarters for me, but it’s also exciting to have the change and be updated.”
Staff writer John Mark Shaver can be reached at 304-844-8485 or [email protected].
