Editor,
It’s hard for me to grasp that our mountaintop will be filled with trucks … not only going east and west over or under Rte 32, but also traveling north and south along Rte 32, which will be turned into the “Truck Route.”
When DOH chose the ROPA alignment for the 10 mile stretch of Corridor H from Parsons to Davis, they realized it wouldn’t get the trucks off the streets of Thomas. So DOH proposed a “Truck Route” that would go around Thomas, DTEMS and the cemetery, and dump the trucks back out onto Rte 32. In addition to the obvious safety hazards of this alignment, the proposed “Truck Route” does serious damage to the quality of life for all of us who live/work/visit the mountaintop.
What this means is that fully loaded trucks will be forced to merge with local traffic at 3 different intersections in Thomas, share a local 2 lane road with passenger cars and then make a 90 degree turn at Rte 48 to get to the ROPA.
Each time I expressed my concerns to the DOH about the Truck Route, they would say, “But you already share that road with trucks.” And then, at each meeting, Travis Long would assure us, “When the highway is completed in Parsons, truck traffic will greatly increase in your area.” Research of truck traffic in the US backs up his statement.
Our grocery store is in Davis and our schools are in Thomas. We need continual access to both towns in order to survive here on the mountaintop. And we have only one road to travel. We go back and forth daily on Rte 32 to go to work, take our kids to school, get to the dentist or doctor, have our cars fixed, visit friends and family, attend church, shop, eat, listen to music, celebrate: Rte 32 is our main artery. It’s our lifeline. It needs to be a safe road for local traffic, and we don’t need to share it with fully loaded 80,000 pound trucks.
Not when there is an option.
Besides, truck drivers don’t want to make all these twists and turns. They don’t want to slow down, merge and share a 2 lane road with local traffic. They want to be on a continuous ribbon of highway that allows them to keep up speed and safely transport their goods to their destinations.
The DOH must continue studies and begin mapping a prudent and feasible alternate Northern Route that would go north of Thomas and their park, not interfere with their water supply, and then connect with the already-completed Corridor H to the east of Davis.
Nancy Luscombe
Davis, WV
For the integrity of our small mountain communities and their residents, and for the sake of future generations, take the trucks off the streets of Thomas, but don’t put them back onto the main artery of our mountaintop. Choose a Better Northern Route for Corridor H.