MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Members of Morgantown City Council questioned Tuesday, Aug. 4, why the West Virginia Division of Highways (DOH) would wait until a week before the return of WVU students to pave Beechurst Avenue — especially considering University Avenue is already closed for construction.
“We’re going to have a serious problem,” Councilor Ron Bane said. “What we’re seeing here is we have the potential for the only two corridors through the city of Morgantown to be blocked.”
Bane asked that the city and WVU reach out to encourage students and residents alike to “use public transit, the PRT, walk to work, ride to work or something … at least for the first week that students are arriving.”
DOH Spokeswoman Carrie Bly said Wednesday, Aug. 5, that all milling and paving will be complete on Beechurst by the end of the week, but “pavement marking and additional ADA ramp work will continue after this time.”
Freshman move-in day is Aug. 14, but Bane said students will begin flowing back into the city this weekend.
He called the possibility of having students return while both Beechurst and University avenues are closed “the perfect storm…
