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BEECH BOTTOM – Recurring problems with a deteriorating storm drain in Beech Bottom may be close to being resolved, thanks to a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
US Senator Shelley Moore Capito, RW.Va .; and Joe Manchin, DW.Va., announced that $ 1,086,166 had been raised through the agency to upgrade the line.
Mayor Becky Uhlly said it would be the first of three equal payments for a $ 3,480,000 project involving the replacement of a deteriorating line that carries runoff from 49 Hill above the village to the Ohio River.
Ruptures in the 95-year-old clay line have caused sinkholes in various places along its path, the most recent having occurred along National Route 2.
She said plans call for replacing the line with a line 6 feet in diameter and extending approximately 2,500 feet from the base of 49 Hill, through the cemetery of the Beech Bottom Community Christian Church. , near High Street to Third Street, Alley C and the Ohio River. .
Plans designed by Thrasher Engineering of Clarksburg include a dozen concrete manholes to provide access to areas of the line.
Uhlly said the village will announce a contractor in the coming weeks and hopes to appoint one in November.
“I hope it will be a good winter and that they can work before spring” she said.
The mayor said addressing the line has been a top priority since she and other members of the village council took office.
“It was a long waiting game” said Uhlly, who has spoken of carrying a large cardboard box full of documents in meetings with various state and federal officials since 2014.
She noted that an orange tint of the water in the pipe often found in coal mine landfills suggested it was blocked by material from a mine that once operated above the village.
The project could have been supported by funds for abandoned mining sites, but the village could not show that the line, which was not built by him, was built for the coal mine.
It was also complicated by the fact that the current line goes under the church building.
Uhlly said she was grateful to Capito and Manchin, who each sit on the Senate Appropriation Committee, for securing the funds needed to make this a reality.
In a released statement, Capito said: “The mountainous terrain and rugged valleys of West Virginia make our communities particularly vulnerable to flooding. As the senior Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, I have worked to ensure communities in West Virginia have the resources to prevent flooding and ensure residents are protected from natural disasters. . We know all too well the devastating impact flash floods can have on our state, which is why projects like this are so important.
Manchin, in the same ad, said, “I am happy FEMA is investing in this Beech Bottom flood control project to help improve their storm sewer system. West Virginia needs to be prepared for any storm or disaster that comes our way, and I will continue to advocate for funding and resources to protect our communities. “
(Scott can be contacted at [email protected].)
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