Monroe County, Ohio - Press Release


	Monday, February 08, 2010

Extension of Interstate 68 Through West Virginia - The Case for the Wetzel/Tyler Route

Tuesday, January 23, 2001

Once in a generation a region may have a great economic opportunity. The extension of Interstate 68 from Morgantown to the Ohio River in the New Martinsville/Sistersville area of West Virginia could be the single most important infrastructure improvement in the history of the Mid-Ohio Valley. This route would benefit Wetzel, Tyler, Marion, Pleasants and Marshall Counties in West Virginia along with Monroe, Noble, Belmont and Washington Counties in Ohio.

The completion of a modern four-lane east-west route through the heart of this area, coupled with continued improvement and expansion of West Virginia State Route 2 and Ohio State Route 7, opens enormous possibilities for business, tourism, health care, education and commerce through some of the most economically distressed counties in West Virginia and Ohio.

A region's industrial and employment base is closely tied to the quality of its transportation system. Efficient transportation allows companies to lower shipping, receiving as well as production costs which enhances productivity and profits. In the short and long run this can mean the difference between economic success and failure. It is critical to the future of Mid-Ohio Valley companies - including PPG, Bayer, Ormet, OSI - and their employees, to have every competitive advantage possible, including modern, efficient highways.

Economic Developers, community leaders and citizens from Wetzel, Tyler, Monroe, Noble and Morgan Counties are working cooperatively to convince planners and politicians that the New Martinsville/Sistersville route will produce the greatest return on investment. The Ohio partners hope that planners in the Buckeye State will also begin a push to bring Interstate 68 through their economically struggling areas.

Cost estimates are comparable for the alternative routes, but there are significant and compelling reasons why a southern route should be chosen over a Morgantown/Cameron/Moundsville Route.

Approximately 75% of the Morgantown/Cameron/Moundsville route is within five miles of the Pennsylvania Border. That route could provide greater economic benefit to Green County, Pennsylvania than to the Mountain State and provides little benefit to eastern Ohio. Should tax dollars of West Virginian’s be spent primarily to support the workers, schools, businesses, communities and residents of the Keystone State?

Unemployment in Wetzel, Tyler, Marion, Monroe and Noble Counties has historically exceeded that of Marshall County. Construction of a four-lane highway through these five counties could create many more job opportunities and bring vitally needed tax dollars to the schools, counties and communities of this area.

The New Martinsville/Sistersville Route opens up 1073 square miles of land in Wetzel and Tyler County West Virginia along with Monroe County, Ohio for development and tourism, versus only 307 square miles in Marshall County, West Virginia.

Wetzel, Tyler and Monroe Counties have a combined total of 80 hospital beds. Drive time is often an hour or more from areas in these counties to trauma centers. Marshall County has 233 hospital beds and is less than 10 miles from Wheeling Hospital, Ohio Valley Medical Center and East Ohio Regional Hospital. The New Martinsville/Sistersville route would provide tremendous emergency medical care benefits to citizens of these and surrounding counties.

Only one educational institution, West Virginia Northern Community College, operates a campus in Wetzel, Tyler and Monroe Counties. Marshall County is within 20 miles of Wheeling Jesuit University, West Liberty State College, WVU Warwood Center and within reasonable proximity to Bethany College and OSU Eastern. Interstate 68 would open new opportunities for citizens of the Mid-Ohio Valley counties at West Virginia University, Fairmont State and other institutions.

Interstate 70 is one of the oldest east-west four-lane highways in the interstate system. It is already overburdened and is constantly under major construction, causing delays and re-routing. Feeding additional I-68 traffic into I-70 through the Morgantown/Cameron/Moundsville Route would further stress this highway. Southern routing of I-68 would be parallel to I-70 and four-lane U.S. 50 connecting with I-77 in eastern Ohio, creating the greatest opportunities for the largest area.

Most major industries in the Mid-Ohio Valley (PPG, Bayer, Ormet and OSI) are relatively close to New Martinsville and Sistersville. Marshall County schools and county government depend heavily on the taxes generated by PPG and Bayer. A four-lane highway in the Wetzel/Tyler County Corridor provides much greater opportunity for these and other area plants.

We respect the work and efforts of the Marshall County I-68 committee. They have helped elevate the awareness of the need for this highway. We are confident, however, that for the benefit of the most citizens and counties of West Virginia’s northwestern area, along with those of southeastern Ohio, that a path from Morgantown into the New Martinsville/Sistersville area will be selected by the route planners. Whatever route I-68 ultimately takes will provide greatly needed benefits the Mid-Ohio Valley.

Next Steps: Thanks to the efforts of area economic developers, political leaders and citizens, a public meeting on the routing of Interstate 68 is expected to be held in the New Martinsville area in March. Industry leaders, citizens and anyone with an interest in the future of the Mid-Ohio Valley is encouraged to turn out for this important meeting.

	© 2005 Monroe County, Ohio Admin